the covid-19 pandemic · empowering employees business continuity cost efficiencies why? working...

Headline Verdana BoldBusiness sustainability during the COVID-19 pandemicPrivate & Confidential

Business sustainability during the COVID-19 pandemic©2020 Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India LLP. 2

Table of contents


Introduction…………………………………………………………………………….………………………………………………………………………………………3

Unique business challenges…………………………………………………..………………………………………………………………………………………5

Reboosting your business continuity framework………………....………………………………………………………………………………………7

Operationalising the existing emergency command centre …………………………………………………………………………………………9

Optimising efficient working at your office premises with minimal workforce……………………………………………………………11

Enhancing the disaster recovery framework ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………13

Remote working ecosystem………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….15

Conclusive Remarks…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…………………………………17

Table of contents

4Business sustainability during the COVID-19 pandemic©2020 Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India LLP.

Introduction

As the COVID-19 crisis continues with no definite end in sight, the core principles of Business Continuity (BC) and Disaster Planning (DP) are being challenged. The majority of the BC and DR plans are devised considering a disruption with a foreseeable end. Hence, recovery arrangements are put in place and tested to sustain critical business operations for a definite period. Being a global crisis, the pandemic has not only affected any one organisation, but the extended enterprise, including peers, customers, partners, and suppliers. This situation is significantly slowing down the entire value chain.

The pandemic is causing the economy to collapse. With these turn of events, we want to ensure that our businesses are able to sustain themselves in the long run. Deloitte has identified some unique challenges that this pandemic has posed to businesses. This document aims to provide strategies and a guideline to enable businesses to respond effectively and promptly to recover from this scenario.


Unique business challenges


Unique business challenges

The ongoing pandemic has tested the

BC plans of many organisations and

made them rethink their recovery

strategies. We can help you respond

promptly with solutions that will

enhance and reboost your BC set-up.

Due to the rapid spread of the novel

COVID-19, the centre faces the

following key issues:

• Enabling BC

• Protecting supply chain

Working remotely is an upcoming method of

work that allows professionals to work from

their homes or other locations. In present

time, this method is relevant more than

ever before. Remote working is on the

rise now.

The ongoing COVID-19 situation has

tested businesses’ functioning capabilities.

Organisations are dealing with work that

cannot be outsourced due to the COVID-

19 crisis. In such a situation, how can one

ensure smooth operations at a workspace

with minimal disruptions?

Reboosting the BC framework Operationalising the exiting

emergency command centre

Remote working ecosystemOptimising efficient working at

the office premises with

minimal workforce

Enhancing the disaster recovery framework

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has tested the BC plans of

most organisations and made them rethink their IT disaster

recovery strategies. We can help you with a prompt and

effective solution to enhance and reboost your IT-DR set-up.

Continuity during

pandemic


1. Reboosting your business continuity framework


Reboosting your BC framework

The ongoing pandemic has tested the BC plans of many organisations and made them rethink their recovery strategies. We can help you respond promptly with solutions that will enhance and reboost your BC set-up.

Challenges Impact

Unavailability of people

Elongated disruption

Overutilisation of resources

Operational

Financial

Technical

How will this benefit you?

Optimisation of existing technology

Minimised disruptions

Operational optimisation

Financial optimisation

Availability of people at all times

Resource optimisation

Possible considerations

2. Restrategise

• Conduct virtual workshops to enhance productivity while working remotely and ensure effective resources utilisation across levels.

• Share awareness emailers to ensure effective resources utilisation (dos and don’ts).

Redefine the recovery strategies (while using the available resources considering the ongoing situation) through, but not limited to, the following ways:

• Identification of critical resources

• Assigning priority-based access

• Slot-based work timing

3. Retrain4. Rebuild

1. Reassess

Rebuild organisations’ BC management framework to help them emerge stronger.

Identify and assess ongoing challenges and impact, while the BC plan is already invoked through the following:• Quick simulation exercise• Three-day workshop to conduct risk and business

impact assessments with the response team

BC framework

We will use Deloitte’s BC and DR methodology to meet your resiliency objectives by focusing on your critical BETH3 assets (building, equipment, technology, human resources, and third-party parties).


2. Operationalising the existing emergency command centre


Operationalising the existing emergency command centre

Due to the rapid spread of the COVID-19, the emergency command centre is facing the following key issues:• Enabling BC• Protecting supply chainYou may focus on the below considerations to overcome the challenges affecting your business.

Challenges Impact

Mass absenteeism

Dependency on technology

Accessibility of command centre

Operational

Technical


Cost efficiency

Deploy skeletal staff

• Identify critical staff.

• Deploy critical processes.

Prioritise and monitor critical processes

• Identify critical processes

related to the emergency

command centre.

• Monitor only these critical

processes.

Identify the possibility to move from physical to virtual EOC( Emergency Operation Centers)

• Assess capability to migrate from

physical to virtual EOC, if any.

• Use of Security Operations

Centers (SOC)

Spread awareness

among employees on

security measures

• Consider sending emailers on

personal measures during

crisis.

• Conduct virtual workshops.

We provide managed SOC services, advise organisations on design and deployment of their own SOC, and help them establish and develop their capabilities.

Delay in response time

Flexibility ScalabilityEfficient communication

Employee safety

Response time


3. Optimising efficient working at your office premises with minimal workforce


Optimising efficient working at your office premises with minimal workforce

The ongoing COVID-19 situation has tested the functioning capabilities of businesses. Organisations are dealing with work that cannot be outsourced due to the COVID-19 crisis. In such a situation, how can one ensure smooth operations at a workspace with minimal disruptions?

Challenges Impact

Communication with employees

Elongated disruption

Overutilisation of resources

Operational

Financial

Technical

Identify critical processes Physical security Setting-up disinfecting zones

Use of digital technologies

Flexible work structures

• Identify the essential departments and business contributors

• Develop a plan for an alternate work set-up and ensure employees are following the necessary precautions (e.g., social distancing, hand sanitising, and wearing a mask).

• Establish employee support For physical and mental health, such as a 24X7 medical support helpline, real-time travel facility, and psychologist on call.

• Prepare a worksite for containment and contamination. Companies should ensure a safe environment by continuous monitoring and ensuring round-the-clock sanitisation and disinfection of the office.

• Review and test the alternate arrangements made.

• Reduce the security workforce with help of technologies such as geo-fencing and X-Ray scanning. These technologies will help optimising the security at the organisations with a minimal security workforce.

• Encourage organisations to set-up disinfecting zones and promote social-distancing practices.

• Follow cleaning mechanisms while carrying out containment activities.

• Ensure that organisations have health and safety kits to deal with any emergency.

• Use technologies such as consumer kiosks, Bluetooth low energy, and RFID, will minimisegatherings.

• Follow tech-enabled practices, such as self-pickup options in applications, and HUB locker, to minimise content.

• Consider working on alternate days such as Monday, Wednesday, and Friday; this will enable organisations to continue their business without haltering operations.

• Shift rotations within teams is one of the viable options to reduce the burden on a single team.

• Rolling teams, team members travel at different times to ensure consistent onsite coverage and reduce overall time.


TechnicalEstablish BCPand RS strategy

Operational optimisation

Effective utilisation


Stronger framework

We offer experienced crisis management specialists who have a holistic understanding of technology, business, and crisis.


4. Enhancing the disaster recovery framework


Enhancing the disaster recovery framework

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has tested the BC plans of most organisations and made them rethink their IT disaster recovery strategies. We can help you with a prompt and effective solution to enhance and reboost your IT-DR set-up.

Challenges Impact

Unavailability of data and systems

Continued disruption

Capacity management

Operational

Financial

Technical


Asset protection

Minimiseddowntime

Reduced incidents

Effective utilisation


Tier-based assessments

IT-DR lifecycle and considerate actions

2. Strategise

• Conduct virtual workshops to enhance productivity while working remotely and ensure effective resources utilisation across levels.

• Share awareness emailers to ensure effective resources utilisation (dos and don’ts).

Analyse the existing business objectives and ground reality (RTO, RPO, MAO, and MOL), re-tier (according to tier 1/2/3/4 criticalities), and redefine recovery strategies according to the critical business segments (as in order):• Facilities and physical security perimeter: Sites (hot/cold/warm) • Network perimeter: Routers, core and edge switches, firewalls, IDPS,

load balancers, and authentication (Citrix, TACACAS, and RADIUS+) • Servers and storage: ADS, DNS, DHCP, sever multi-pathing, high-

availability, clustering, virtual servers; zoning and fabric redundancy, data and disk replication, backups and archives, arrays with in-built RAID, and tapes

• Applications: Load balancing, instances, data, and DB backups

3. Test4. Rebuild and review

1. Assess

• Rebuild the IT disaster recovery framework for the organisation to be in sync with the core business objectives.

• Review DR plans and test outputs and assist in remediation.

Identify and assess existing IT infrastructure (resiliency of facilities and physical security perimeter, network perimeter, servers and storage tiers, and application tiers) and technical impact; the DR assessment is already invoked through the following:

• Major incident/outbreak simulations

• Data centre closure simulation

• A four-day workshop to conduct risk and business impact assessments with IT teams (including RTO, RPO, MAO, and MOL checks

• Creation of DR plan cookbook and test plan workbooks for the above-mentioned tiers

BC framework



5. Remote working ecosystem


Remote working ecosystem

Location independence

Remote working

ecosystemEmpowering employees

Business continuity

Cost efficiencies

Why?

Working remotely is an upcoming method of work that allows professionals to work from their homes or other feasible locations.

In present times, this method is relevant more than ever before.

Remote working enablement

Collaboration techniques

What?

Rapid communication and response across functions

Working differently

Adjusting schedules to

accommodate the client,

team, and home situations

Working remotely,

mostly from home

Adopting tech-enabled

solutions for a seamless

collaboration

Flexing to meet fluctuating

business needs

Where When

HowHow much

Sales HROperations

Admin ITFinance

+ Next Steps

for remote working

enablement

Transitioning to remote working ecosystem

Defining principles

and policies

Mapping out enabling functions

Leveraging digital

technology

Understanding stakeholder expectations

Effective teaming

strategies

Establishing a structure for

communication

Effective training

Emphasise benefits

Establish structure

Build trust

Define remote working adoption approach.

Establish remote working principles, procedures,

and methodologies.

Remote working enabling technology adoption.

Remote working culture proliferation.



Conclusion

18Business sustainability during the COVID-19 pandemic©2020 Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India LLP.

Conclusive Remarks

The situation at hand is extremely fluid, necessitating a shift in the way we approach BC planning and crisis management. Response and recovery efforts will have to be agile, people focused, technology enabled, and most importantly sustainable for us to tide over this unprecedented crisis.

Constant assessment of response strategies/tactics: A crisis situation is fluid that involves a combination of multiple threat vectors manifesting simultaneously. A core strategy is adopted to respond to the main crisis. However, multiple tactics (workarounds/supplementary measures) are used at regular intervals to ensure the overall success of the strategy. Organisationsshould constantly review the effectiveness of these tactics and tweak them to ensure they achieve their intended outcome. Leaders should not hesitate to roll back tactics that do not prove to be effective. Preparing a knowledge base to capture the learnings is important.

Defining the new normal: Demonstration of success is crucial to uplift the moral of employees and recovery workers, providing them hope and renewed enthusiasm. Leaders should communicate such success stories, thus setting an example. After being in execution for a month, some of these successful stories can be evaluated to incorporate into normal business operations. This may also change the way future crisis can be managed and helps reinstate the importance of crisis management among business partners and employees.

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© 2020 Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India LLP. Member of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited

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