Report: Firms without continuity plans 'living dangerously'

Too many organisations are still unprepared to deal with sudden business disruptions caused by such threats as electronic attacks or a global pandemic (PDF), according to a new report from the Chartered Management Institute in collaboration with Cabinet Office.

“A Decade of Living Dangerously,” the institute’s 10th business continuity management report, find that, while more organisations than ever (52 percent) now have business continuity plans, the number of managers who say continuity is important dropped to 64 percent, down from 76 percent in 2008.

Of greatest concern to the organisations surveyed were the threats of electronic attacks (58 percent) and disease outbreaks such as an influenza pandemic (57 percent).

“Against the backdrop of increasing economic pressure, the need for business continuity has never been greater,” writes Bruce Mann CB, Director of Civil Contingencies Secretariat, Cabinet Office, in the introduction to the report. “If British businesses are to remain competitive in our ever-changing economic and environmental climate they must ensure the availability of their services, a constant state of readiness and the flexibility to respond to any eventuality.”