Disasters tend to have a knock on effect that can ripple for years. 2 that come to mind were the floods in Thailand and the 9-11 terrorist act. The floods tempo

Disasters tend to have a knock on effect that can ripple for years. 2 that come to mind were the floods in Thailand and the 9-11 terrorist act. The floods temporarily knocked out the supply chain of HDD components, which had the knock on of system builders not having enough components. And eventually, technicians not having enough spare replacements for current systems. 1. In most businesses these other locations are supplementary to HQ. Typically there is no one at the datacenter and CS centers rely on guidance from HQ. They are not in the position to make decisions and drive the company. 2. Growing up and working in Florida you natural disasters are like clockwork. I can say for sure that 1 is covered by insurance and the gov't and 2 is going to be hard to pull off without looking like a complete dick. Also, you have other constraints. Airports may be closed and driving can be dangerous. Plus cars need fuel which is typically in short supply and expensive. 3. If you have a company of a few thousand I would say a few hundred are essential. Where are you going to find a place to house a few hundred people at once? Remember that other companies are thinking the same as well. I also believe the most essential employees are that way for a reason. If they have the same preparedness in the company they also have the same mentality in their community. It would not be illogical to imagine the person in charge of DR for the company is also a member of the volunteer fire department. Microsoft would be able to recover, then they find out the caterers don't have food to serve the cafeteria, employees can't come to work because there is no fuel, etc. These are the soft issues that most DR plans don't account for.