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Enterprises advised to consider epidemic's impact on continuity plans

About 80 percent of enterprises worldwide haven't considered the potential impact of a global epidemic, such as avian flu, might have on business continuity plans, according to Basex, researchers on the productivity of knowledge workers and how technology affects them.

For situations that could cause absenteeism to rise to 25 percent above normal rates, companies need to ensure they can keep business moving, Basex says. An Emergency Collaborative Response, a crisis in which a company's IT infrastructure--including collaboration and knowledge sharing tools--ensure business continuity is beyond the capabilities of most companies, according the research firm.

In the event of a significant incident, companies need to be able to comply with local governmental recommendations such as requesting that employees stay home. The report, Strengthening Corporate Pandemic Preparedness and Response, is available from the Basex Web site at no charge.