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AT&T Study Finds Business Continuity Planning a Priority for New York Companies

Posted on: Monday, 14 August 2006, 12:00 CDT

NEW YORK, Aug. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- On the third anniversary of the North American blackout that paralyzed New York businesses and left thousands of office workers stranded, AT&T Inc. announced that a recent study finds that 78 percent of New York City organizations that were surveyed have business-continuity plans in place, preparing them to face a disaster such as a blackout or terrorist attack.

In almost all the areas of business-continuity planning that were explored through this national survey, New York ranked in line with or above its municipal peers. However, there were certain regional differences, some of which were surprising given the city's position as a financial and commercial capital:

-- 76 percent of IT executives in the New York area (moderately more than the 70 percent national average) consider business-continuity planning a priority -- New York City businesses have been more financially susceptible to disasters than those located in other markets surveyed; 41 percent of businesses impacted by a disaster in New York said it cost them more than $100,000 a day, including 17 percent which said it cost them $1 million to $5 million a day -- In contrast, the survey found that among the markets AT&T surveyed, New York City ranks last in terms of the number of companies which have actually tested their business-continuity plan within the last six months -- 86 percent of companies in New York that have suffered from a disaster said they've taken actions to reduce business interruptions in the future - more than any other market surveyed

"It's evident that for some companies, various events have been a real wake-up call," said Mark Keiffer, chief marketing officer-Business, AT&T Operations Inc. "That's the good news. But it's surprising how many companies are still putting their businesses and future at risk by not adequately planning for the next hurricane, earthquake or cybersecurity hit."

AT&T offers a wide array of New York businesses with services encompassing disaster-planning, risk management, recovery preparedness and communications readiness. The company also conducts Network Disaster Recovery (NDR) exercises several times a year. These exercises test, refine, and strengthen AT&T's business- continuity and disaster-response services in order to minimize network downtime. By simulating large-scale disasters and network service disruptions, AT&T can apply and refine best practices for rapidly restoring communications to government and business customers.

Throughout the past 10 years, AT&T has invested more than $300 million in its NDR program, which includes specially trained managers, engineers and technicians across the United States, as well as a fleet of more than 150 self-contained equipment trailers, and support vehicles that house the same equipment and components as an AT&T data-routing or voice-switching center.

Study Methodology

These results are based upon 1,000 telephone interviews, conducted by Western Wats and Opinion Research Corporation, with chief information officers and other senior IT executives from companies with more than $10 million in annual revenue. All respondents were screened to ensure that they are senior decision-makers with responsibility for handling information technology at their respective organizations.

One hundred interviews were conducted in 10 select markets (Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, St. Louis, Seattle, and Washington D.C.). Interviews were conducted Jan, 17 - May 9, 2006.

For more information on the AT&T 2006 Business Continuity Study, including the complete report, visit http://www.att.com/biz_continuity_study .

Note: This AT&T release and other news announcements are available as part of an RSS feed at http://www.att.com/rss .

About 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 57.3 million wireless customers. Additional information about AT&T Inc. and AT&T products and services is available at http://www.att.com/ .

Subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. provide products and services under the AT&T brand.

AT&T Inc.

CONTACT: Ed Bergstraesser of AT&T, +1-212-803-2667,ed.bergstraesser@att.com

Web site: http://www.att.com/http://www.att.com/biz_continuity_study

Source: PRNewswire-FirstCall

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