Few UK small businesses are ready to bounce back if they have a
business disruption.
An independent survey of 1,130 small business owners,
commissioned by
business continuity firm SunGard, shows only a third of SMEs in
the UK are taking steps to ensure that their business can continue
to operate normally under any circumstances.
Keith Tilley, vice-president of Europe for SunGard Availability
Services, said, "SMEs admit to feeling pressure from customers to
show their resilience. Yet they are doing very little to protect
their business."
The survey found that 40% of SMEs would suffer total or severe
impairment to business operations in the event of a computer
hardware failure.
In addition, 45% would suffer total or severe impairment to
business operations following a power cut or a flood, and only 10%
would suffer no impairment and be able to function as normal in the
event of a fire.
Less than 10% of SMEs had heard of BS 25999, the first British
Standard for
Business Continuity Management, which was launched in October
2007.
The standard establishes definitions of key business continuity
processes, and lays down guidelines for the development, testing
and analysis of business continuity plans.
On being told about the standard, nearly 30% of SME managers
said that they would now plan to achieve certification.