While creating a disaster recovery plan, the embedded chip problem will be solved, and the business will also be prepared for any other year-2000 fallout. Most big businesses have a department dedicated to creating, maintaining and coordinating the plan with all the business units. A disaster recovery plan ensures that essential business functions will continue despite most conceivable disasters. This usually entails protection of revenue-producing parts of the business from fire, flood, earthquake and any other problem that would negatively impact the business. A disaster recovery plan backs up and protects the business's data, ensures continued production with minimal delay, makes sure the money keeps flowing in and the product keeps flowing out, and states the responsibilities of the company's key employees during a disaster.
Few businesses have a disaster recovery plan.
In a study of the 1996 floods in the Portland area, I surveyed more than one hundred businesses in the Willamette flood plain. These businesses were not ignorant of their location. They knew full well that flood plains get covered with water regularly, yet only about half of them even had flood insurance. Businesses just hope that there will be no fire or flood that will affect them, and they usually luck out. Most of the time, for most companies, disasters don't happen, and not doing any disaster planning is an option.