|
Many firms fail to consider how lines of communication will stay open in the event of a BDE. During many BDEs, traditional landline communications may be disrupted for long periods of time. Cell phones and various handheld devices may also lose connectivity, as in the case of the major Northeast Blackout of 2003. In the event of a BDE, a robust enterprise mobility infrastructure can help keep your company’s vital lines of communication intact.
During and after a BDE, your workforce needs access to other employees and to the applications they need to do their jobs, your vendors need to check inventory and order status, your executives need to communicate with the investor community, and your customers need to be informed and serviced. Communications has become an essential component of every company’s strategic and business continuity planning.
Communications Within The Company
The most important component of employee-to-employee communications during and after a BDE is mobile access to the Internet. With mobile Internet access, employees can communicate with each other via email, track news relating to the BDE, and access the company Intranet and Internet-enabled systems and applications. Although many employee-to-employee interactions can be handled by mobile Internet access, the ability to talk directly to other employees is also important. Mobile voice access is a close second in importance to mobile Internet access.
If the repercussions of a BDE continue beyond a few days, mobile collaboration capabilities will become increasingly important. It will be essential that teams and departments be able to “meet” virtually and collaborate.
Communications With Business Partners
A person on a voice call that can answer questions is vital in the early stages of a BDE. Immediately following a BDE, the most important communication channel with your business partners is voice. Mobile voice will allow your managers to contact your associates to apprise them of the situation and to assure them that the BDE will not affect your relationship with them. This is much more reassuring than an impersonal email, as the recipients may suspect that an email came from an automated system and it is not a good indicator of what is actually going on.
Following the initial voice conversations with a partner, mobile Internet and Remote Network Access will become the main method of communicating with them. Emails will now be the primary method of staying in touch and your partners will need to access your applications that enable them to conduct business with you. Mobile collaboration will become increasingly important if the effects of the BDE continue beyond a few days.
It is also extremely important to get the companies you do business with on the same level of preparedness as your firm. Mobile communications following a BDE are only effective if all parties are able to communicate – it’s a two-way street. So, as part of your planning, make sure you involve these companies – including suppliers, vendors, channel partners, etc. – and get them to buy in. Some of them may be SMBs (small to mid-sized businesses) with more limited resources and they may not see integrating mobility as a priority. For some of these companies, your firm may have to take the lead and assist them in their enterprise mobility preparedness.
Communications With Customers
The importance of various methods of communications with customers during and after a BDE may vary depending on the types of customers you have.
If you have large customers that contribute significant revenue to your firm or are of strategic importance, it will be important to have your customer-facing representatives call those customers to keep them informed and to let them know that your firm will do everything in its power to support them until the effects of the BDE have passed. The initial voice communication with your larger customers should happen as soon as possible following the onset of the BDE and should continue to be the primary method of communication until the effects have ended. For these customers, mobile voice is of primary importance. For the large and strategic customers, mobile collaboration will also increase in importance if the effects of the BDE continue for a long time.
|
