Cisco survey finds nation's businesses probably unprepared for working remotely in times of disaster
A survey of 502 IT professionals in the health care, retail, finance, government and education sectors contains some results that should be of interest to many financial advisers. Chief among the findings: Most organizations are not ready to support all or even a majority of their employees remotely in the wake of a disaster or other major disruption.
The survey found that 53% of respondents reported that less than half their employees are currently set up to work remotely, and 21% said that they have no employees enabled to work remotely.
Cisco Systems Inc. commissioned the nationwide survey of IT decision makers from U.S. businesses of all sizes. The resulting report is entitled
“Securing the Mobile Workforce,” and while its findings are sure to find their way into marketing materials published by the giant manufacturer of networking and remote-access technologies, they still hold some value for the rest of us.
If nothing else, it might be a good idea for advisory firms with offices in flood-, fire-, earthquake- or hurricane-prone areas to take a look at their disaster preparedness plan (if they have one). Advisers whose core advisory technology is hosted elsewhere, and who can connect to it using the Internet are the best-prepared. Those with their core technology and client data residing locally might want to think about contingency planning.
Not surprisingly, the survey found that only 22% of respondents reported feeling that their current remote-access technology is up to snuff regarding disaster preparedness and business continuity. Similarly, only 15% of the respondents listed “pandemic or other disaster preparedness” as a top business driver for providing remote access to employees.
The intended takeaway is that without the proper networking infrastructures to support remote work by a high percentage of their employees, these organizations risk being unprepared to maintain their operations should a major event prevent individuals from coming into the office for an indefinite period.
The results aren't all doom and gloom, though. Of those who have adopted mobility and remote-access technology, 62% reported that it has resulted in increased employee productivity, with 57% noting an increase in employee satisfaction and 42% seeing a reduction in overhead costs.
For information on additional findings and to view a video of Cisco's Fred Kost, director, security solutions marketing, discussing the results, visit the following page on the company's website:
Cisco Finds Organizations Not Ready to Operate as Usual During Workforce Disruptions.
Carbon trading
White paper available from technology provider Trayport outlines pros and cons of carbon trading in the U.S.
With cap-and-trade legislation making the rounds in Senate committees, and with President Obama set to visit the United Nations Summit on Climate Change in Copenhagen this month, now might be a good time for advisers to begin reading up on the potential for carbon trading in the United States if they haven't already.
If passed, such legislation would set the stage for a national carbon-trading system — known as cap and trade — that would allow companies to buy or sell allowances or credits.
A white paper, published by Trayport Inc., a presents the challenges and opportunities facing commodity traders, brokers, and others.
Trayport's Trading Gateway platform carries 85% of all carbon emission credit trades in the European Union, which is far ahead of the U.S. when it comes to trading carbon credits. The platform provides access to many carbon exchanges, including BlueNext and Bayerische Boerse's Greenmarket. Other markets accessible from Trading Gateway are EEX, NordPool ASA and ECX, as well as the over-the-counter markets offered by six interdealer brokers. In all, 50 global markets and 3,000 asset classes are available through Trading Gateway.
For a PDF copy of “Is Carbon the Next Big Thing for U.S. Business?” e-mail Trayport at: jubin.pejman@trayport.com.
Trayport announced integrations with the Depend clearing and settlement platform from Percival Software Ltd. in October. That system, which also supports deposit and registry of equities and bonds, was intended to foster seamless real-time clearing and settlement of trades.
GFI Group Inc. is the parent company of Trayport. For more information, visit
Trayport online.
