The world is an uncertain place, with increasing political and economic instability following hot on the heels of all the disruption of the global pandemic.
Investing in new technology may be the last thing on the agenda for many organisations right now as they struggle to cope with the challenges of rising costs, supply chain disruption, and shortages of staff and materials.
But, in fact, the current turmoil highlights why it's more crucial than ever to ensure your business is resilient enough to withstand whatever life throws at it – and that means protecting the critical infrastructure that underpins your operations.
From transport to energy and the industrial sector, the ability to predict and prevent incidents affecting infrastructure on land, underground and at sea is key to keeping everything running smoothly – or even running at all.
Threats can come from a variety of directions. Weather-related incidents like landslides or flooding are an obvious cause of damage, for example, along with 'human-related' incidents such as terrorism or vandalism.
But there are also invisible threats in the shape of degradation over time or hidden installation errors that cause a sudden failure when you least expect it.
Scenario planning can help determine potential threats to your critical infrastructure – along with political, economic, social and technological (PEST) analysis to gauge external factors that could have an impact.
But the most vital thing is to be responsive – and, wherever possible, proactive. Consider what information your infrastructure managers need, for example, to create a technology roadmap that supports their critical assets into the future.
Installing systems capable of monitoring and instantly identifying, in real time, any issues with your infrastructure can be a cost-effective approach. If problems are spotted at a very early stage, maintenance can be carried out to prevent them becoming expensive – and potentially catastrophic – major issues.
It is also important to create response teams capable of monitoring and responding in an agile way to identified threats. And train your infrastructure maintenance teams so that they can fully support a proactive, rather than reactive, way of working.
If you'd like to find out more about protecting your critical infrastructure in an unpredictable world, get in touch via info@smartcomptech.com
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