December 10, 2009

Y2K 10 Years Later: Corporate Preparedness Focus Turns to People, says Preparis

ATLANTA – Ten years ago this month, companies worldwide were struggling with last-minute preparations, hoping their computer systems were able to continue operations when the date changed to 2000. Today’s threats are more broad and unpredictable, according to Preparis, Inc., and preparedness needs to turn its focus to people.

“People must be at the center of any company’s disaster preparedness program,” said Armistead Whitney, CEO of Preparis. “While data and systems have been at the core of corporate readiness, executives must address the people side to ensure all aspects of the business, including IT, can continue to operate.   In the 21st century, we’re seeing a rising tide of threats to the workplace from terrorism, workplace violence, pandemics and increased natural disasters. These crises force people, the core of a company, to quickly make the right decisions. Data is worthless if people aren’t prepared.”

At the turn of the century, “Y2K” millennial concerns were top-of-mind. Shortly thereafter, crisis was redefined for corporations with the 9/11 terrorist attacks, a myriad of natural disasters, the H1N1 pandemic and thousands of everyday emergencies that occur around the world forcing organizations to come to grips with a new first priority: people.

Preparis, Inc., the only company offering a SaaS platform of preparedness training, information, protocols and tools, is seeing companies redouble their efforts to prepare their workers for emergencies. Just as fire drills are regularly practiced, so too must businesses prepare employees for any type of threat, so they know what to do and can go on “auto pilot” in any emergency.

Preparis preaches full enterprise preparedness through their READ, REACT, RECOVER approach. Core teams are trained and certified as Crisis Team members. Online training modules address pre-threat preparation and effective situational responses, customized for different offices and specific client needs. Preparis’ document management system enables managers to access critical business continuity plans at a moment’s notice, and a company’s employees access information and tools tailored to the workforce.  A team of topical experts, called the X-Force, maintain regularly updated content tailored to different responses to over 60 different threats.

About Preparis
Preparis helps companies around the world prepare and respond to crisis events ensuring workforce safety, minimizing operational downtime, and maintaining corporate reputation and shareholder value. The company's on-demand emergency preparedness suite is accessed by its customers' C-suite and employees at every level across multiple geographies. Headquartered in Atlanta, Preparis safeguards more than 500,000 people and in excess of $185 billion in enterprise value.