Leader: Don't get IT in a flap over bird flu

It's almost impossible to open a newspaper without seeing a story about the threat of bird flu.

But three years ago, the killer disease feared by all was SARS, which is rarely mentioned in today's papers.

At the moment - and let's hope it stays that way - the threat of bird flu is theoretical. It hasn't been able to spread between humans and so, currently, the risk is low.

But even so, financial services organisations are making sure they have their defence plans in place. HSBC has said it expects 50 per cent of its worldwide staff to fall sick in the event of an outbreak of the virus.

It is putting contingency plans in place - and that must have other banks thinking the same way too.

But the threat of bird flu should be no big news for the IT department. They should have plans in place to support the whole company, whatever the risk.

Crisis management shouldn't be about reacting to every new threat with a new IT project costing millions. Surely it is about putting in place systems that are flexible so that if the worst happens, the IT is in a state that allows a company to respond flexibly.

It goes without saying that financial companies, some of which are part of the Critical National Infrastructure, should be ready to support staff with home working capabilities.

CIOs have had enough wake-up calls to know that disaster recovery plans should be in place. Making sure they can cope with the risks of bird flu shouldn't add much extra effort.

In effect, it should be just another day at the office. That's not to belittle what could happen of course – only to say that companies have had more than enough time to cover all bases with their crisis management plans.