Recently, many organizations have been in the headlines for IT failures.
From large scaled natural disasters to smaller, more locally defined power outages and network failures, a loss of data and interruption to daily business operations can cost an organization dearly. Just how much can an IT system failure affect the stability of a business?
• According to an often cited Gartner study, [http://www.gartner.com/technology/research/business-continuity/] 40% of businesses who lose access to their data for a mere 24 hours go out of business. And what happens when the time frame is extended?
• According to the same study, of businesses that lost access to their data for ten days, 90% of them went out of business The sobering fact is that the majority of business activity is centered around a computer network. In fact, according to a study conducted by the University of Texas at Arlington, “85% of organizations are heavily or totally dependent upon computer systems.” It only stands to reason that any interruption – even a minor one – to that system can result in a loss of revenue.
Have You Tested Your Disaster Recovery Plan Today? Or Ever?
It, of course, also stands to reason that with so much riding on the stability, security and reliability of the computer network, most companies would go the extra mile: creating disaster recovery plans and testing those plans frequently. Unfortunately, this is simply not the case. According to DRplanning.org, at least half of US businesses do not invest in disaster recovery planning. And of those companies that actually have disaster recovery plans in place, only about 50 percent of them actively test those plans. The simple truth is that a system failure does not have to cost you revenue, or worse, your business. With the right business continuity plan and disaster recovery testing in place, you’ll be prepared to handle whatever emergencies come your way.
