How important is a Disaster Recovery Plan to your Network Support Business in Boston?
It’s been three weeks since monsoon run-off flowed over more than 1,000 factories across central Thailand. Flood waters are only slightly receding, which leaves the world’s largest computer makers without being able to provide a date in which when crucial parts will be available for delivery.
In an industrial zone in Thailand, workers are using Jet Skis and wooden skiffs to move stacks of computer components out of the waterlogged factories.
As reported by the New York Times:
Consumers worldwide could see increases of at least 10 percent in the price of external hard drives because of the flooding, according to Fang Zhang, an analyst at IHS iSuppli, a market research company. The effect will be less noticeable for laptops and desktop computers, he estimated, because demand has been weakened by the current global economic malaise.
The shortage is not entirely bad news for the disk-drive business, especially for those companies whose facilities were not damaged, such as Seagate, which has a factory high and dry on a plateau in northeastern Thailand. Mr. Monroe said price increases will help lift industry profit margin to about 30 percent from about 20 percent before the floods.
This major flooding, is another reminder this year of the vulnerability of global supply chains. This following only a few months after the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan and shut down facilities, severely impacting the auto manufacturing industry.
“Thailand will be able to get away with this once — but not twice,” said Mr. David Lyman, chairman of Tilleke & Gibbons, a prominent law firm in Bangkok. “They will have to do everything humanly possible to make sure it doesn’t happen again.” said Lyman.
Even with flood prevention measures in place, serious consideration must be given to the amount of risk concentration in any manufacturing industry. Have you looked at your disaster recovery plan lately? It’s about that time don’t you think?
If you would like to read the entire New York Times Tech article, just click here.
