Table of Contents
Hitoshi Goto
Ukihiko Takagi
In the previous article, we covered key considerations for document translation in overseas projects. This time, we will look at infrastructure risks to watch out for in overseas projects.
Cases Where Heavy Rain Power Outages Impacted Schedules
Risk management has become more thorough in domestic projects as well, but few projects list frequent power outages or network failures as risk items. Overseas, however, this becomes quite important.
In Brazil, infrastructure risks unthinkable in Japan actually occurred. Power outages and network failures due to heavy rain happened as often as once a week, not just within factories but across entire regions. This prevented access to test environments and impacted schedules.
In Japan, server rooms and data centers almost always have power outage countermeasures in place, but this cannot be expected depending on the country or region.
For server downtime, preparing a cloud environment as a risk countermeasure is possible, but when network failures occur, you are helpless. Therefore, depending on the country or region, measures such as not including the rainy season in the schedule may be necessary.
During such periods, material procurement may also stop.
Do Not Assume Infrastructure Is the Same as Japan – Conduct Thorough Prior Investigation
When trying to relocate servers for business continuity, there are actual cases where servers broke during transport due to rough roads. We experienced this in Thailand, India, Brazil, and other countries.
Regarding networks, bandwidth may become insufficient when spanning countries or regions, so sufficient prior investigation is necessary.
You will fail if you think of social infrastructure such as electricity, roads, water and sewage systems, and transportation the same as in Japan. You must always conduct thorough prior investigation (especially by listening carefully to local expatriates) and manage these as risks.
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