Morgan Stanley Y2K Preps

greenspun.com : LUSENET : TimeBomb 2000 (Y2000) : One Thread

Internal memo r'cved this morn. Appropriate boxes are blanked for the obvious reasons:

Date: Tue, 09 Nov 1999 18:24:17 -0500 From: Reply-to: Organization: Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co. To: CC: Subject: Y2K/BCP NY Displacement Strategy

The Firm has decided to implement a reactive displacement strategy for work area recovery in connection with the Y2K event period (December 15-January 31). This email will explain the effects of the displacement strategy on IT staff within 750.

A reactive displacement strategy identifies suitable alternative work locations for critical staff in the event of a specific building outage. Although details of the displacement plan will be documented prior to the event period, the workspace will not be readied unless an outage actually occurs, except in a very few circumstances.

A number of seats are being identified within the 750 building for use by IT colleagues from Brooklyn or Business Unit staff (from Brooklyn, 1585, or 1221) who are deemed critical should there be a building outage during the event period. The final list of people affected by the displacement strategy will be published by November 30th. Procedures for relocated staff and instructions for displaced staff will also be made available.

In order to test the viability of this strategy, the Firm is planning to simulate the relocation of a few critical people in selected business units to assure that data can be accessed at the "recovery site" and phones can be forwarded. The IT C3 center on 750/5 will be used between Nov. 17 - Dec. 3 to conduct simulations of critical staff being displaced to 750 from another building. If you are called upon to assist with the preparation and execution of the tests at 750 or other NY locations, please make this a priority.

Any questions about the Y2K/BCP NY Displacement Strategy should be directed to mailgroup or contact

Looks like the Biggest Investment firm ain't taking any chances eh?

-- I could get (fired@for.this), November 10, 1999

Answers

So let me see if I get this right. If there is a specific building outage(must mean no electricity) then they will move to another area. Now is it me or just HOW do you suppose anybody will get around NY if the lights go out. I hope the DRILL goes well...

-- y2k dave (xsdaa111@hotmail.com), November 10, 1999.

Thanks.

-- yep (you@sure.could), November 10, 1999.

Ouch!!

Got Flashlights?

-- Billy Boy (Rakkasan@Yahoo.com), November 10, 1999.


I find this a bit refreshing. Like the internal Alliant memo I posted here back in January, it indicates that some organizations are treating the potential risks seriously. Should any actual problems arise, the difference between a company that remains competitive and one that flounders on the beach could be a well- thought out range of contingency plans.

Dave: You are correct in that if things get serious, this level of contigency planning might be meaningless. On the other hand, it might be the right plan at the right time. Planning for a range of possibilities, from zero on up, seems to me to make the most sense. It's the approach I've tried to take in my own planning.

If this memo is for real (I'm not claiming that it isn't, just acknowledging that not everything we see on the net can be taken at face value), I think it reflect well on Morgan Stanley.

-- Arnie Rimmer (Arnie_Rimmer@usa.net), November 10, 1999.


Reminds me of a conversation I had with a friend yesterday when he told me that his employer had contingency plans for Y2K. When I asked him if the contingency plan had been disseminated to the employees, he said no. If a company has not distributed copies of contingency plans to affected employees, then their contingency plan is nothing more than pieces of paper being used to meet some vague standard of "Y2K readiness".

Sounds like Morgan Stanley actually has a real plan. I am encouraged by this, and that they are planning some drills of the plan.

-- (RUOK@yesiam.com), November 10, 1999.



It may not be just electricity that causes a Loss Of Site (LOS) event. At a former client site I was drawing up disaster recovery plans. One thing that became evident was that if the people who delivered water to the building became unavailable the Health Dept. might be forced to close us down due to a lack of potable water. Also, due to the miracle of Cube Farms you can stuff alot more people on to any given floor. We identified 10 out of 15 floors that would have to be closed if we lost the use of a toilet for more than 24 hours due to inadequete facilities. And we DID have plans to operate from different sites.

Keep your...

-- eyes_open (best@wishes.not), November 10, 1999.


Memo to all employees: Dont forget your diarrhea medicine.

-- Earl (earl.shuholm@worldnet.att.net), November 10, 1999.

A friend of mine worked for Charles Schwab (Napa Valley) through the late 1980s. They had wild contingency plans for execs and support staff in place even then, on account of earthquakes. They advised bringing bug-out bags to leave at work.

-- silver ion (ag3@interlog.com), November 10, 1999.

Moderation questions? read the FAQ