Nothing concentrates the mind like disaster, and the September terrorist attacks in New York and on the Pentagon prompted information technology types and their corporate overseers to review their recovery plans. Shockingly, some had none. Others weathered the crisis pretty well and managed to be up and running quickly, even though offices in and around the World Trade Center were obliterated.
So what’s the lesson? Mobility and redundancy is good. Centralization isn’t. Let’s call this the Controlled Chaos Theory. A good reference point is the way the Internet managed to distribute news and to function after the tragedy. Because of its decentralized, seemingly anarchic nature, administrators managed to route cybertraffic around ground zero in downtown Manhattan. As a result, people were able to send e-mails to friends, loved ones, and business associates, and Web sites gave us regular news updates. Compare the Internet’s performance that day with phone service to and within New York, which relies more on central switches. It basically broke down, as both cellular and regular service staggered under the load.
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