[cooperation-wg] Impact of COVID-19 measures on operations and regulatory barriers?

Michele Neylon - Blacknight wrote on 23/03/2020 14:51:
> A concern I've heard from multiple operators is around continued
> access to data centres. Some of the commercial operators are now
> imposing restrictions on access and these will probably be extended.
> That could have a severe impact on operations if staff cannot get
> onsite to access hardware when necessary.

access is a serious issue, but the collapse of the various supply chains 
is a longer term and potentially much more serious problem with more 
wide ranging effects.

Shutting down chunks of the supply chain is like pulling blocks out of a 
jenga pile.  While politicians have been comforting themselves by only 
shutting "non-essential" businesses, our supply chains are so complex 
and so interdependent that there is simply no way to predict what is and 
what it not essential.

This is exacerbated by just-in-time supply-chain management which makes 
the processes a good deal more fragile than they might otherwise be. 
But the root problem is misjudgement and misunderstanding about what is 
and what is not "essential".

Is a plastic bead manufacturer in Thailand essential?  What about a 
screw fittings factory in Wuhan?  Or cobalt / rare earth mines in Russia 
or the DRC? Or the local mechanic with his stock of spare tyres for the 
delivery van with a puncture?  If any of these failed, we would end up 
with a long term downstream ripple effect which could mean that a 
network switch deployment couldn't be rolled out for a field hospital.

As for restarting the global economy in 6 or 12 or 18m time? That will 
not be easy or simple.

Society is actively threatening the supply of nails and this is going to 
put us at risk of losing the kingdom.

Nick