DETROIT ? More than two years after the August 2003 blackout, almost one-third of Michigan companies do not have business-continuity plans in place, contends a report issued by AT&T. Scarier still, some 40 percent still feel that contingency planning is not a priority for their businesses.
The survey found that although many businesses are still not adequately prepared, more than half of companies do consider it to be important priority. The 2003 blackout placed renewed emphasis on contingency planning, when businesses ranging from banks to supermarkets to auto plants and chemical plants were down for days. The costs are real; losses were estimated at $220 million by the Detroit Regional Chamber and University of Michigan?s Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations.
Of the companies with such plans, 49 percent report testing them in the last year and more then half of those in the last six months (26 percent). Both figures are below the national averages. The consensus of business-continuity experts is that plans should be tested at least every six months. Almost a fifth, (19 percent) have never tested their plans, which is considerably above the national average.
Updating the plan is also critical, and Michigan companies seem to understand that; 76 percent made revisions in the past year ; and 51 percent, in the past six months. This is about the same as the national average. None say that their plans have never been revised.
Recognizing the increasing importance of their networks to their day-to-day operations, 80 percent have implemented such Internet security precautions as firewalls, intrusion detection, hacker protection and password authentication or plan to do so in the near future. Nearly one-third (29 percent) have used or plan to use in the next six months a service provider for outsourcing.
Educating employees in security issues is a key part of network protection, and 88 percent of Michigan companies who include cyber security as part of their business-continuity plan have made it part of their program, even more than the 80 percent who have developed defined corporate security policies.
?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 Michigan.
