by Eric Reiss - 16 September 2001

 

The ultimate disaster

Last Friday, I had lunch with a client. He distributes thermocoatings for steel structures and explained their importance with the following example:

"Let's say an airplane hits a tall building. The plane burns. Without a protective thermocoating, the steel girders will eventually melt and the building will collapse. Just think what would happen if a plane hit the World Trade Center."

In retrospect, the conversation seems extraordinary. But this nightmare scenario has long symbolized the ultimate disaster in business circles.

The afternoon of Septermber 11, the sun was shining in Copenhagen. At 2 PM Danish time, the day was just getting underway in New York. I was scheduled to call a friend in the States to learn more about his job as Disaster Recovery Manager for a large financial institution.

We spoke for about 10 minutes. He explained, "We have to have 100% data redundancy. That's why we maintain extensive data-storage facilities over in New Jersey. Just imagine if we were bombed or a plane hit our offices and our main repository was wiped out. How would our company survive without these backups?"

My friend's office was in the North Tower. He died later that morning. CNN just reported that his company will reopen on Monday.

Now that shock and tears are slowly giving way to anger and cynicism, I can't help but wonder - why has the business community been able to anticipate events that have taken the government by surprise?

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