September 19, 2005—In the aftermath of one of the nation’s most devastating disasters, a report released September 12 by AT&T and the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) finds that nearly one-third of US businesses surveyed do not have business continuity plans in place.
Despite recent events, ranging from security breaches to natural disasters, the report, “Disaster Planning in the Private Sector: A Look at the State of Business Continuity in the U.S.,” finds that in a survey of more than 1,200 businesses conducted from January to August 2005, nearly 40 percent stated that business continuity planning was not a priority.
Although even a few hours of downtime can result in huge financial losses, a tarnished reputation, and lost customer goodwill, the study found that nearly one-fourth of companies that have suffered a disaster have not taken action to prevent or minimize business interruptions in the future.
Additional key findings from the study include:
- Almost two-thirds of companies that suffered a disaster experienced lost business.
- Sixteen percent lost between $100,000 and $500,000 per day, and 26 percent admit they don’t know how much it cost their company per day.
- Fewer than half of the companies that have had business interrupted by a disaster have updated their business continuity plans in the past six months.
- More than 40 percent of companies have not established redundant servers or backup sites for their critical business functions.
- Nearly one-third of companies have not implemented basic security technology, such as firewalls, intrusion detection, or password authentication.
All companies, regardless of size, need to identify their critical business components and effectively manage the risks around them, says AT&T. Plans should specify redundant systems, back-up sites, employee communications, and alternative work sites. They also should include a process for maintaining customer communications immediately following the disaster and until things return to normal.
AT&T says that an increasing number of companies are turning to experts to handle business continuity planning. According to the study, nearly 30 percent of companies now use a service provider for business continuity needs. AT&T offers a wide array of business continuity services designed to help ensure the continuous operation and availability of customers’ critical business processes, applications, data, work centers, and networks.
