Piece I did for CIO Magazine has just gone live online:
Planning for a server outage, a power cut or half your staff being taken ill from a rogue batch of sushi at the company party are all probably within the ability range of most competent managers. But if things escalate, it’s time to call in the professionals.
The comfort and confidence that knowing the police, ambulance or even military are there to help if things take a real turn for the worse is just as vital to oiling the wheels of commerce as an effective regulatory or financial system. Luckily, as recent history has shown, the systems underpinning the police and military are more robust than those found in some areas of the City or Wall Street. A global financial crisis has been punishing enough, but imagine a similar meltdown in health provision, law enforcement or even the army.
The perception that law-enforcement agencies and the military adhere to more rigorous standards than the average citizen goes a long way to explaining the swathes of ex-army and law-enforcement types in the upper echelons of business. In the IT sector, companies including Microsoft, Unisys, Verizon and Xerox have all hired former military, intelligence or law-enforcement personnel. Tracking down exact numbers for how many IT professionals have come from law enforcement or the army is not easy but, for those personnel with technical experience, the computer industry is a natural progression. However, it’s not only technical skills that make these individuals attractive; the abilities to stay calm in a crisis and deal with pressure are also highly valued.
For more go to CIO.co.uk
EARTHED-TECH 