In The Wake of NYC 2001

It’s an eerie feeling today. I’d just watched a local New York channel’s
program on skyscraper repairs and on technology that could bring down a big
building with precision explosives, without touching buildings next door. I’d
looked out of the World Trade Center’s Mariott Hotel that day, a year ago, at
all those skyscrapers so closely packed together, wondering if they could really
manage such precision.

But on Black Tuesday this month, terrorists made no attempt to contain
collateral damage. The two aircraft that ripped into the twin towers killed
thousands, and finally brought down seven buildings, including the hotel I had
stayed in.

The US president said that even after history’s worst terrorist attack,
life and business has to go on. It won’t be the same, though. Everything
changes. Countries, once insulated from terror, wake up to the new reality that
they too are vulnerable. Civil aviation, "the safest form of travel",
suddenly becomes dangerous in the hands of terrorists. Technology will have to
fix that.

And in the safest locations in the world, enterprises are not safe. Even if
their people are safe (over 3,000 Morgan Stanley staffers were saved because
they decided to evacuate the second tower when the first one was hit). Destroyed
data and paper records can bring down a company. The financial companies,
including Nasdaq, recovered quicker because of their elaborate data security,
distributed storage, and offsite backups. Other companies were not so lucky–or
meticulous.

Data storage and security will clearly be a major area of activity, after NYC
2001. This is a wake-up call to enterprises to protect their data, especially to
those thousands in India who do not have data backup, or do so at the same
location, or don’t use fireproof safes for paper records.

What else will NYC 2001 mean for infotech? And for India? In the short term,
there is likely to be a dip, as energies and funds are channelised elsewhere.
But in the longer term, there will be opportunities to tap: the services areas
of storage and security, the enhanced IT deployment for global law enforcement,
civil aviation and more.

Unless there’s a war. With a protracted war, a 21st-century Vietnam that
involves the NATO alliance, a world economy now officially in recession will
recede further. There’s a "new, hidden enemy", so quick and surgical
strikes are unlikely. With that, and with US visa restrictions and xenophobia,
we can expect tough times ahead for India.

Prasanto Kumar Roy