Study: Many companies lack disaster, continuity plans

Computerworld - A U.S.-led war in Iraq that could spawn new terrorist attacks in the U.S. could be less than two weeks away, but that hasn't prompted many companies in the U.S. to invest adequately in disaster recovery, according to a new study released today by Dataquest Inc.
The study, "Investment Decisions: Preparing for Organizational Disasters," warns that unless companies invest immediately in disaster preparedness planning, as many as one in three could lose critical data or operational capability if a disaster occurred.
IT managers from 205 end-user companies representing eight vertical industries in the U.S., including government, aren't investing appropriately in disaster plans because they don't have the money to reach their required readiness levels, said Tony Adams, principal analyst in Dataquest's IT services group. "Budget constraints are forcing an average of 40% of respondents to rely on a best guess to determine potential risk rather than obtaining formal assessments, which would be too costly," he said.
"More prioritized investments must be made to ensure that businesses can quickly regain productivity after a calamity," said Adams. "Preparation is key, and without adequate investment for protection of critical systems, the repercussions of disasters will be lengthier and more costly."
Still, 53% of the respondents have implemented crisis management plans, and another 30% that do not yet have plans are considering developing them, according to the Dataquest study. The remaining 17% said they aren't developing crisis management plans.
"Organizations may have researched and prepared a disaster recovery plan, but the data show that only a fraction have involved themselves in contingency planning for external events that might impact their capability to perform their business operations," the study concludes.
"It could be merely that clarity about the aim and function of crisis management is needed," according to the study. "It could also be explained in terms of the IT systems not being deemed mission-critical in importance." Just over a third of those surveyed by Dataquest, or 34%, indicated that crisis management preparedness is being studied for possible increased funding.
Fully 57% of the organizations surveyed said either that they didn't know how often they evaluate contingency preparedness or that they do so in less than half of all new IT initiatives they undertake, according to the Dataquest study. Just 10% said they evaluate every new initiative for business continuity.
Rob Clyde, vice president and chief technology officer at Symantec Corp., agreed that funding issues continue to hamper the creation of contingency plans at many businesses. However, even companies that have disaster and contingency plans