Wharf signs up to swine flu contingency scheme
Canary Wharf businesses are signing up to a phone plan which diverts calls if their buildings are plagued with swine flu.
Several major firms on the estate have already taken advantage of BT's Voice Continuity Directed Recovery plan, which allows them to set up contingency plans which can be activated when offices become no-go areas.
The system itself has been available since last year, but a version tailored for pandemic preparedness was launched last week in response to growing fears about the outbreak.
James Foley, of BT SmartNumbers, said: "If you look at the names on the larger skyscrapers in Canary Wharf, most are signed up to this service. Out of the 10 largest companies in the area, at least half have already subscribed.
"If there's a large pandemic outbreak in a building, you can't tell the staff to come in because you have a duty of care.
"With this system, you can disperse them to the winds but as far as the customer is concerned there's no change because their calls are being answered by the same people."
Companies that sign up are given access to a web portal through which they can design up to five plans to deal with emergencies.
Calls can be re-directed to a home, regional office or mobile phone. While those preparing these options will have to set up their account over the phone at first, the contingency plans can be activated by just entering a username or password online.
SMS messages will then be sent to employees warning them not to travel to the building in question that day.
Mr Foley said: "Most companies already have solutions in place for data and network operations, so you can access emails. But when it comes to voice, you tend to be stuck at your desk in the office.
"Previously, if a business wanted to do this, it had to buy expensive private branch exchanges and set this up using their own equipment. Now we've built it into the core network."
While the Wharf businesses involved declined to be identified, Mr Foley claimed the service was especially attractive to firms in the area.
He said: "There are a lot of reasons Canary Wharf businesses have been looking to improve resilience, and swine flu is just the latest one.
"A large number of customers were subscribed before because they wanted to protect themselves against terrorism. There is a lot of construction in the area as well, and if the wrong cable is cut it can affect a business heavily."
Email j.foley@btsmartnumbers.com or go to BTvoicecontinuity.com
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It's about time that some organisation is at least showing some innovation when it comes to pandemic planning. We've been looking at home-working for some time, and it seems like the pandemic is forcing companies to confront the challenges and opportunities that this offers. A colleague is another bank has been using these BT SmartNumber services for some time as part of their Relationship Management strategy, and since it allows them to work from home, office or just about anywhere then they're already covered when it comes to pandemic planning.