International security and risk management firm Neptune P2P Group has called on GCC businesses to review, rehearse, and test their contingency plans while conditions allow, warning that organisations which wait for a crisis to act will find themselves competing for the same limited resources at the same time.
Carl Sykes, CEO of Neptune P2P Group, presented the firm’s findings and recommendations at the International Stability Operations Association (ISOA) Middle East Networking Reception aboard the QE2 in Dubai on October 1.
The recommendations draw on Neptune P2P’s recent work supporting the relocation of around 2,000 employees by sea, land, and air charter across the GCC and the Levant, with contingency plans remaining active for around 20,000 more.
“Adapting to the new normal means running the business as close to normal as practical, with clear triggers to respond as conditions change and clear communication so that staff understand what has been decided, why it has been decided and how it will be implemented. Businesses that prepare early, when there is time to secure resources and agree decisions calmly, will be far better placed than those that wait for any future disruption to force their hand,” Carl Sykes, CEO of Neptune P2P Group said in a statement.
The firm’s findings point to recurring failures in how organisations approached recent disruptions. Security planning was frequently siloed from other departments.
Some contingency plans were still shaped by COVID-era assumptions rather than the possibility of regional conflict. And companies with similar risk profiles often spent 48 hours developing a response before seeking the same external support simultaneously, by which point costs and options had both narrowed.
“As ISOA marks its 25th year, companies working in the world’s most challenging environments have learned that stability depends as much on logistics, planning and coordination as on security. That lesson now applies far beyond conflict zones. Businesses operating in this region are recognising that preparing for disruption is a strategic decision for leadership, not a technical task to be handed off once a crisis begins,” Doug Brooks, Founder and President Emeritus of ISOA added.
On internal communications, the firm’s recommendations caution that language matters. Terms like “evacuation” and “hostile reconnaissance” can unsettle staff and stakeholders unnecessarily, while phrases like “short-notice relocation” and “situational awareness” carry the same operational meaning with less friction.
Neptune P2P also draws a distinction between crisis management and incident management, recommending that organisations move to the latter as quickly as conditions allow.
Running a parallel team focused on adapting business operations, alongside the immediate response, helps companies maintain continuity rather than defaulting to reactive mode for the duration of a disruption.
Regular structured updates after each management meeting, the firm adds, can counter the rumour cycles that tend to circulate on social media during periods of uncertainty.
