Independent research into disaster recovery commissioned by Veritas Software revealed that 82 percent of Middle East companies suffered unplanned downtime in the last 12 months, yet IT managers didn’t take the necessary measures to ensure disaster recovery (DR) plans protected their corporate data. More than a quarter (26 percent) of IT managers have not tested their plans and 12 percent of the medium- to large-sized companies surveyed have never reviewed their DR plans since they were created. Just under half (44 percent) review their plans every 12 months or more -- making their plans potentially redundant. With just 26 percent of Middle East companies creating DR plans that are influenced by regulatory compliance, Veritas warns that DR planning shortfalls could not only put data at risk, but also leave companies exposed to legal risks.
Thirty six percent of Middle East companies didn’t know how long outages lasted -- suggesting that they don’t calculate the risk and cost to the business of unplanned downtime. When DR plans are implemented, significantly, 23 percent of Middle East IT managers subsequently made changes to the plans -- suggesting that with the right testing, these measures could have already been in place. Furthermore, they cited the top negative consequences of unplanned downtime to their businesses as: major data loss 77 percent, major unplanned system downtime 31 percent, reduction in profits 31 percent, and reduction in revenue 31 percent.
When asked where DR plans were located, only 22 percent of the respondents kept their plans at a remote/secure third party location. Seventy-four percent keep their plans at their main Data Center and 8 percent keep their plans off-site in an ad-hoc location, including an employee’s home, car or laptop.
And there are divided views amongst those companies in the Middle East who do not currently have a DR plan. Veritas sponsored research revealed that 25 percent are currently compiling a plan. Fifty percent believe a backup process is all that’s needed. Thirteen percent feel that they don’t have a high enough level of risk to warrant the expense of a DR plan, and a further 13 percent state that the company is too small to be investing in such a plan.
Mike Hynes, regional manager, Veritas Software Middle East explained, “Disaster recovery planning is fundamental to any regional organization that is serious about its survival. By not reviewing and testing the DR plan each time the IT infrastructure is significantly changed, Middle East-based IT mangers are not only putting their systems at risk, but could be potentially putting hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of business on the line, and effectively leaving their data uninsured.
