Trinidad and Tobago Rediscovered - 12

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO REDISCOVERED
Disaster Recovery
Planning for potential disasters of any kind in data center
operations involves technology, backup locations that can
be cold-started if the need arises, and ensuring that staff
are available to run the operation. In Trinidad and Tobago
research participants had considered potential disaster
recovery needs and in fact selected the location because
of its lower risk. Weather continued to be part of the discussion and one participant felt that Trinidad and Tobago
"would rank as one of the safer locations given past weather patterns in relation to hurricane paths." In essence,
choosing Trinidad and Tobago was part of its risk avoidance strategy. Another organization simply decided that it
would provide support in multiple countries allowing it to
shift operations to an active service center in the event of
a disaster situation.

The Need for Governmental Support

Diversification Leads to Cost Savings for
Financial Services Outsourcing
One research participant explained that "It is critical for
government involvement to be ﬂexible and responsive
given the many needs of creating a full scale outsourcing
center." One the biggest concerns expressed by respondents is that it can take substantial time to relocate necessary talent from outside of Trinidad and Tobago. Not every
function can be ﬁlled from within the country's borders.

Future Plans
Organizations covered in this research largely have plans
to expand in the region. While quantifying results is not yet
possible, operations are running smoothly and companies
locating in this region are satisﬁed with their outcomes.
More job opportunities will be brought to the region as
these companies expand operations. The dependency is
that each organization continues to receive governmental
support from Trinidad and Tobago from both a ﬁnancial as
well as regulatory standpoint.

There is a widespread sentiment that when outsourcing
outside of a company's country-of-origin that support
from the target location's government is critical. The
bottom line is that the government in any region can facilitate or shut down business opportunities. Some say that it
can "grease the skids" or "pave the way" for the creation of
business, jobs and hence revenue opportunities in the
country.

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