The Haze Might Be Temporary. Your Business Continuity Problems Aren't.
Haze episodes end, usually when the winds change or the rain arrives. The weaknesses they expose do not: staff who cannot work productively away from the office, a VPN that struggles when everyone connects at once, and meeting rooms that cannot include people who are not in them. A haze-related business continuity plan for a Singapore office is really a plan for IT and communications, and the time to fix it is between episodes, not during one.
This article sets out what Singapore's official haze guidance asks of employers, then walks through the layers we look at in any continuity review (people, devices, connectivity, meeting rooms and power), with examples from the store such as the ASUS ExpertBook B1, Jabra Evolve2 65 MS, Logitech MeetUp, Jabra Speak2 75 MS, Fortinet FortiGate 50G and APC Back-UPS Pro BR900MI. Conferencing and IT keep work moving; they are not a substitute for public-health precautions, and health questions belong with NEA, MOM and your doctor.
What does a business continuity plan need to cover for IT?
| Layer | The continuity question | What usually breaks | Typical fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| People | Who can work away from the office, and who cannot? | Roles never tested remotely; no agreed arrangement | Written role list, agreed flexible work arrangements, a rehearsal |
| Devices | Can each remote-capable person take their work home today? | Desktop-only staff, no headset, no webcam | Business laptops and Teams-ready headsets for the remote-capable roles |
| Connectivity | Can remote access carry everyone at once? | VPN sized for a few travellers, not the whole office | Firewall and licences sized for peak remote users |
| Meeting rooms | Can the office host a meeting where half the people are remote? | Laptop on the table, no room microphone | Video bar or speakerphone in every room that is still booked |
| Power and single points | What stops if the office router or one server goes down? | One unprotected box running the network | UPS on network kit; a list of single points of failure |
What do MOM and NEA ask employers to do about haze?
Start with the official sources; we are not a health authority. The tripartite advisory from MOM, SNEF and NTUC, last updated on 16 October 2026, says: "Employers should put in place Business Continuity Plans (BCP) during peacetime to help minimise work disruptions." It also encourages employers to brief staff on their roles and run BCP exercises, notes that Enterprise Singapore's EDGE grant can help fund BCP development, and says that where possible employers should implement flexible work arrangements "such as telecommuting and staggered work hours", agreed with employees.
MOM's separate guidelines on protecting employees from haze, updated on 20 October 2026, place the primary responsibility for employee safety and health on the employer under the Workplace Safety and Health Act, and ask employers to carry out risk assessments and set up a communication system between employer and employees. MOM tells employers to use NEA's PSI forecast to plan the following day and 1-hour PM2.5 readings to adjust outdoor work during the day. NEA publishes both on the myENV app, haze.gov.sg and its own website, and notes that transboundary haze is more likely during the Southwest Monsoon months.
When this article was written on 24 October 2026, the haze website's regional situation update (10:26 AM, 23 October) described smoke haze over parts of the region, including Singapore, and an outlook of continued risk of transboundary haze. Check haze.gov.sg and the MOM haze page for current readings and workplace guidance rather than relying on this article.
Why is haze a business continuity problem and not just a weather problem?
ISO describes ISO 22301:2019 as a framework for business continuity management systems that helps organisations protect against, reduce the likelihood of, and recover from disruptive incidents. Haze is a useful test because the response the advisory points to (telecommuting, staggered hours, fewer people on site) is the one you would also need for an MRT breakdown or a building closure. If your plan only works for one cause, it is a haze plan. If it works for all of them, it is a continuity plan. Our sibling post Haze Season Is a Reminder: Every Office Needs a Plan B. turns this into a practical checklist; this one is about the decisions behind it.
People: who can work remotely, and who cannot?
The first gap is rarely technical. Many plans assume "everyone can work from home" without listing which roles need the office (reception, logistics, warehouse), which depend on an application that only runs on an office desktop, and who approves the switch. Write the list, agree arrangements with employees as the advisory describes, and rehearse for a day. A rehearsal is where gaps such as a security token left in a desk drawer show up.
Devices: are your laptops ready to leave the office?
Remote-capable staff need a portable device and a way to be heard. For general office roles, the ASUS ExpertBook B1 B1403CVA-NJ1209X (Intel Core 7 150U, 16 GB, 512 GB SSD) is listed at S$1,499.00 with 3 years local onsite warranty, which matters when a device fails while the user is at home. A proper headset makes calls usable from a noisy flat: the Jabra Evolve2 65 MS Stereo wireless headset with USB-A adapter is S$330.00. More headset choices are in the Teams certified headsets collection, and our hybrid-work office tips cover the wider home kit.
Connectivity: can remote access carry the whole office at once?
A VPN set up for a few travelling managers can struggle when the whole office connects at nine on a Monday. Check how many concurrent remote users your firewall and licences support, test it with a realistic number of people, and confirm multi-factor sign-in works away from the office. For small offices, the Fortinet FortiGate 50G combines next-generation firewall, SD-WAN and VPN in one desktop appliance; it is listed at S$1,168.80 for hardware only, or S$1,819.20 with one year of FortiGuard Unified Threat Protection. Cloud dependency is a separate risk, covered in Are Businesses Becoming Too Dependent on ChatGPT?
Meeting rooms: can the office include the people who are not in it?
When fewer people come in, the meetings do not stop; they become hybrid. A laptop at the end of the table leaves remote attendees straining to hear. A huddle room needs a camera that sees the whole table and microphones that reach every seat. The Logitech MeetUp 4K ConferenceCam (S$921.38) has a 120° diagonal field of view and three beamforming microphones with 4 m pickup, and Logitech recommends it for up to six people. For a manager's office or a room without a display, the Jabra Speak2 75 MS speakerphone (S$415.00) has four microphones with pickup up to 2.5 m and, according to Jabra, up to 32 hours of battery. What makes these meetings feel natural is covered in Can Technology Make Virtual Meetings Feel Almost Like Being There?, and if an outdoor event has to move indoors or online, see When Outdoor Events Get Cancelled, Can AV Technology Save the Day? Browse more in video conferencing for business.
Haze is temporary. A continuity plan that only works when everyone is in the office is the permanent problem.
Power and single points of failure: what stops if one box fails?
Remote work still depends on the firewall, switch and NAS in the office cupboard. Put them on a UPS so a short power dip does not cut off every remote user. The APC Back-UPS Pro BR900MI is a 900 VA / 540 W line-interactive UPS with six battery-backed outlets, listed at S$452.50. Our guide to mitigating power outages with APC UPS covers sizing.
Buying continuity kit in Singapore
SourceIT supplies Jabra, Logitech, Fortinet and APC with local warranty, alongside ASUS business laptops. Prices are as listed on 24 October 2026, and all the items above were in stock at the time of writing. If you are standardising laptops, headsets and room kit for a whole team, see our corporate sales page. To request a quote, use Request for Quotation on the product page, call (65) 6978 3502, email Sales@sourceit.com.sg or use our contact page. Government buyers can reach us through GeBIZ.
Frequently asked questions
Does MOM require a business continuity plan for haze? The tripartite advisory from MOM, SNEF and NTUC says employers should put Business Continuity Plans in place during peacetime to minimise work disruptions, brief staff and run exercises. Check the MOM haze page for the current wording.
Can employees work from home during haze? The tripartite advisory encourages flexible work arrangements such as telecommuting and staggered work hours where possible, agreed between employers and employees. It is not an automatic entitlement, so agree the arrangement in advance.
Where should we check haze readings? NEA publishes the 24-hour PSI and 1-hour PM2.5 readings on the myENV app, haze.gov.sg and the NEA website. MOM asks employers to use the PSI forecast for next-day planning and 1-hour PM2.5 readings during the day.
Is video conferencing a replacement for haze precautions? No. It keeps work and meetings going when fewer people are on site. Workplace and health measures should follow MOM and NEA guidance.
What IT should a small office check first? Which roles can work remotely, whether those staff have laptops and headsets, whether the VPN can carry everyone at once, whether meeting rooms can host remote attendees, and whether the network kit is on a UPS.
Is there funding for business continuity planning? The tripartite advisory notes that Enterprise Singapore's EDGE grant can help fund BCP development. Check Enterprise Singapore for eligibility.
