If you didn't have a policy document in place before, get started on it now. With more industries and corporations that make significant contributions to Pakistan's economy, if companies that are installing their automation solutions into existing infrastructure without a back up plan in place, we are going to have a lot more to lose than just a computer system.

"It Won't Happen To Me" Psyche

Hollywood action and the world of special effects has perhaps made decision makers numb to the possibility that something as horrifying as an earthquake can actually bring a building down or whether rains during the monsoon season might actually collapse bridges and block roads. At least the local district governments and Federal Relief Commission is more prone to thinking about developing plans that might help to manage the potential damage caused to the physical infrastructure. But even that thought process only seems to happen in a reactive mode as opposed to being as proactive as possible. While you can't expect to bring 100% physical safety based on envisioning all the possible calamity that can happen, you can at least attempt to be proactive and work and facilitate the people or the agencies that know what to do.

Management of virtual property is perhaps still not quite understood by the agencies responsible for disaster management. According to Salman Ansari, CEO of SATC and a Telecom Consultant, outside the realm of the IT and Telecom sector, nobody is thinking about disaster recovery or management. "The Federal Relief Commission head complains that disaster recovery is such a long and complicated process that takes a lot of time, however even he is only talking about the 'search and rescue disaster recovery'. They haven't even started talking about DR for the intellectual property or data management of a business."

Most professionals are of the opinion that if there isn't a public entity that comes forward to set up a formalized process, then the IT companies who already practice Business Continuity as part of their everyday practice, should.