• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Businesses in the Western States Poorly Prepared for Disasters; Pre-Katrina Survey Finds 40 Percent of Area Companies Have No Business-Continuity Plan

Posted on: Wednesday, 28 December 2005, 12:00 CST

As earthquakes, hurricanes and security breaches continue to dominate the headlines, a report issued by AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) and the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM), reveals that companies in the Western region of the nation are not prepared for disaster.

The report -- that surveyed businesses in Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada and Utah -- found that barely half of the companies in these states have a business-continuity plan, and 38 percent of companies say it is not an important priority for them. Western firms are not immune to disaster, with 13 percent reporting having weathered a major disruption in the past.

Almost two-thirds (62 percent) of the region's businesses say business-continuity planning is an important priority for them, with more than a quarter (29 percent) noting that it has become a more important priority in recent years because of terrorist threats.

"Disaster Planning in the Private Sector: A Look at the State of Business Continuity in the U.S." surveyed 100 senior technology executives with direct business-planning responsibilities in the West. Nationwide, more than 1,200 executives from companies with more than $10 million in annual revenues have been interviewed, representing a broad sampling of industries and markets.

"While the states in this region are generally not vulnerable to events like hurricanes or earthquakes, the large fires of the past few years are a cause for real concern," said Susan Stoll, AT&T sales vice president in Phoenix. "Furthermore, most of the companies surveyed conduct business nationally or even globally and really should be thinking about business continuity from that broader perspective."

Although having a business-continuity plan is the first step toward preparedness, continual testing and updating of the plan is equally important to ensure that a business can sufficiently weather a disaster. The report revealed that only 58 percent of the companies surveyed with continuity plans have tested them in the last year, with a little over a third (37 percent) conducting a test in the past six months. Almost one in five (18 percent) has never tested its plan. The expert consensus is that continuity plans should be tested every six months.

Those companies that do have business-continuity plans understand the necessity for updating them. Almost three-quarters (74 percent) have revised their plan in the last year and almost half (44 percent) in the last six months.

Surprisingly, given the area's many high-technology operations, companies in the West are slightly less likely than those in other regions to either implement or plan to implement Internet security measures such as firewalls, intrusion detection, hacker protection and password authentication. Only 55 percent have done so and 20 percent have plans to do so in the next six months. A little under half (49 percent) have set up backup servers and/or sites and about one-fifth (20 percent) plan to do so in the next six months.

Companies with continuity plans generally understand the importance of cyber security to their recovery planning. Almost three quarters (73 percent) say it is part of their overall business-continuity plan. Almost all (90 percent) have educated their employees on cyber security issues, 85 percent have prepared corporate security policies, and almost a quarter (23 percent) have contracted with an outside service provider to manage security.

"Western companies seem to be counting too much on their luck holding out," said Elizabeth B. Armstrong, executive director of IAEM. "Even among the companies that have weathered a major disruption, none reported losses over half a million dollars. The West is growing fast, making businesses especially vulnerable to man-made disruptions, whether intentional or inadvertent, to say nothing of natural disasters. Preparation is the best defense."

Survey Methodology

Results are based upon 100 telephone interviews conducted this year by Opinion Research Corporation with officers at companies with annual revenue of $10 million or more in the West, consisting of Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, and Utah, that have responsibility at their organization for business-continuity planning, particularly when it comes to telecommunications, websites and data networking.

About the New AT&T

AT&T Inc. is one of the world's largest telecommunications holding companies and is the largest in the United States. Operating globally under the AT&T brand, AT&T companies are recognized as the leading worldwide providers of IP-based communications services to business and as leading U.S. providers of high-speed DSL Internet, local and long distance voice, and directory publishing and advertising services. AT&T Inc. holds a 60 percent ownership interest in Cingular Wireless, which is the No. 1 U.S. wireless services provider with more than 52 million wireless customers. Additional information about AT&T Inc. and AT&T products and services is available at www.TheNewATT.com.

Source: Business Wire

More News in this Category