October 15, 2008—Twenty percent of organizations with business continuity plans have no idea if they will actually work in a crisis because they’ve never tested the plans, according to a Stratus Technologies survey.
The survey, part of Stratus’ “Taming The Hydra” Webinar series on business continuity, revealed a surprising lack of readiness for maintaining operations during natural or man-made disasters, even among the nearly 80 percent of companies that named business continuity as a priority, says Stratus.
Business continuity is broadly defined as the ability to maintain critical business processes during a disruption of normal operating conditions. Disruptions can be anything from a natural disaster to a major systems failure.
Stratus asked whether business continuity is a priority at their companies; whether they actively follow a plan to ensure business continuity; if they believe that implementing a business continuity plan provides a significant competitive advantage; and how often they test their business continuity plan.
Business continuity was a strategic priority for 76 percent of the companies surveyed, 69 percent said they followed a business continuity plan; and 86 percent believe that a business continuity plan is a significant strategic advantage. However, only 45 percent of companies following business continuity plans tested them more than once a year. Of the remaining companies, 35 percent tested yearly, and 20 percent not at all.
For more information, see the Stratus Web site.
