Video: 10 Minute IT Jams - Interactive director of business continuity

Business continuity planning has never been more critical. That is the clear message from Brett Wilson, Director of Data Centre and Business Continuity at Interactive, during a recent interview reflecting on the turbulent events of the past year and the company's two decades in the business.

For over 20 years, Interactive has supported companies through disasters large and small. "We've hosted 74 real world disasters for customers in their times of greatest need," Wilson revealed, explaining that these major incidents have ranged from fires and floods to cybersecurity attacks and, more recently, the COVID-19 pandemic.

Before the pandemic, most incidents that required business continuity support were due to power failures or communication outages. But no one foresaw how swiftly the landscape would change in early 2020. "Very few people would have seen [the pandemic] amongst their top 20 addressable risks going into that year," Wilson reflected. "But clearly, that all changed very quickly in January of last year."

The pandemic prompted Interactive to adapt rapidly, introducing new solutions for resilient operations. One standout change has been supporting customers to split their staff across multiple sites, enabling some to work from home while others operated from Interactive facilities. "In this scenario, Interactive became like a third office to our customers," Wilson said. The concept proved "really successful", allowing firms to continue critical business processes and avoid regulatory breaches even amid ongoing uncertainty, he explained.

Wilson described the past 12 months as "an interesting time for us". As 2021 unfolds, he has observed marked shifts in customer behaviour and industry focus. According to Wilson, the key trend shaping the future of business continuity in Australia is the emergence of operational resilience as a central theme. "At its simplest, [operational resilience] is just about businesses anticipating risks and preparing and planning to recover from broader than simply business continuity," he said.

This wider view encompasses crisis management, governance, supply chain assurance, as well as physical safety and security for staff and company premises. "I could reasonably expect some significant updates from [the regulator] this year in regard to their prudential standards," he added, referencing the growing scrutiny of the financial services sector. Interactive is now working closely with banking, insurance and superannuation clients to help them meet these evolving requirements.

Another increasingly important service is the facilitation of off-site crisis management exercises for clients. Wilson described how Interactive's purpose-built facilities are used by companies and external agencies to run realistic "bad actor" scenarios – exercises that can optionally include cyber-attack and cryptocurrency ransom incidents. "These scenarios are specifically designed to stress test executives and their preparedness, using scripted role plays," Wilson explained.

With the pandemic still at the top of corporate risk registers, organisations are seeking to thoroughly test their people, processes, and crisis plans. Opinions around COVID-19 itself are shifting too. Wilson noted that while the pandemic was initially labelled a "black swan" event, many now see it less as an unpredictable disaster and more as a "black elephant" – an obvious threat that was ignored until it was too late. "People knew it was there but no one really wanted to address it," he said.

One consequence is likely to be harder expectations from regulators. "I don't think the regulators will allow this to happen again. All businesses, but particularly those holding client funds, will be required to identify their risks and put in place the appropriate levels of future planning to recover from them," Wilson commented.

The shifting landscape has also influenced office arrangements. For Wilson, the move towards "managed" or flexible office solutions has been accelerated by the pandemic, but is part of a wider 'everything-as-a-service' trend. "The main driver of managed office adoption is flexibility during these times of great uncertainty," he said. Unlike traditional real estate leases of five or ten years, managed office products typically provide one- or two-year terms, matching companies' newfound desire for flexibility as they work out long-term remote and hybrid working policies.

Companies now increasingly purchase their computing power 'as a service', scaling up or down as needed, and Wilson sees no reason offices should not be accessed in the same way. "I think that fundamentally the choice of a business premises is key to operational resilience," he said.

Interactive's combination of high-security data centres and managed office solutions is particularly attractive to regulated industries. Alongside 20 years of experience serving financial services clients, the company offers power and network redundancy, security certifications, and the ability for organisations to swiftly recover both IT systems and workspaces. "Our credentials as a managed office, particularly to the regulated industries, has been supported by our 20 years of providing these office recovery services to the financial services industry," Wilson explained.

Interactive's facilities are equipped with backup generators, uninterruptible power supplies, and redundant network links – all designed to ensure continuous operations no matter the crisis. The company's compliance with international quality and security standards is another selling point. "We are certified in ISO 9001 for quality, and ISO 27001 for information security – these are key international standards required by businesses operating in our financial services sector," Wilson highlighted.

Looking to the future, Wilson predicts that organisations will segment their workforce into office-based, hybrid, and permanent remote categories. Overlaying this, he expects to see continued growth in "third offices" – satellite premises where staff can collaborate and train without travelling to a city centre. As he put it: "I can see that more and more companies will be embracing permanent work-from-home staff, but also supporting suburban offices where staff can congregate for collaboration, training, and vendor meetings."

Yet, beneath the advances in infrastructure and planning, Wilson sees a human focus at Interactive's core. "Despite all the certifications and the infrastructure, our purpose is to keep technology human," he said, expressing pride at being named Australia's Best Place to Work in 2020. "We put a lot of work and a lot of value into looking after our staff, and our staff who in turn look after our customers."