US crisis: Will the disaster recovery plans really work?

Many large multinationals will be scrambling to put continuity plans into effect today, to maintain their IT infrastructure and ensure 'business as usual' following yesterday's terrorist attack on New York and Washington - others will be ensuring their plans are in place should the need arise.

Stephen Bean, from continuity services provider Guardian IT, said its clients conduct many relocation practice runs every year and, like other affected companies, will have plans in place to ensure they can keep their businesses running.

He said workstations are set up with the exact same phone numbers and desktop configurations "to ensure business as usual".

After yesterday's terrorist attacks in New York and Washington DC he said that 20 of its clients had contacted them and they were on high alert.

"UK and European businesses tend to be more aware of terrorism attacks compared to US companies who typically have continuity plans for natural disasters," he said.

Both BT and PricewaterhouseCoopers confirmed they have continuity plans in place with data back-up systems so they could continue to function in the event of a major disaster.

However, neither said they could divulge any more information for security reasons.

A BT spokesman told silicon.com: "All our systems are duplicated, so if one part of the system goes down it can keep functioning as normal."

Guardian IT's Bean added that it is possible some New York-based businesses will look to relocate to recovery sites in London due to a lack of space in the US following yesterday's dramatic incidents.