IT systems integrator CDW on March 22 released results of a study about
business continuity/disaster recovery methodology that indicates 25 percent of
all enterprise IT systems suffered unplanned outages of 4 hours or more during
the past year.
Based on this data, CDW said it estimates conservatively that such network
outages cost U.S.
businesses $1.7 billion in lost profits last year.
In its Business Continuity Straw Poll, CDW queried about 7,000 medium-size
and large U.S.
enterprises about significant network disruptions they had experienced since
July 2009. The survey aimed to ascertain how well businesses reacted to
disruptions and to determine the measures IT managers are taking to improve
their business continuity and disaster recovery capabilities.
"The survey confirms that while many businesses believe they are
prepared for an unplanned network disruption, many are not. And yet the three
most common causes of IT outages are addressable," CDW Vice President of
System Solutions Norm Lillis said.
As might be expected, power outages ranked as the No. 1 cause of business
disruptions, with one-third of businesses reporting that this cause also
prompted their most recent disruption. Hardware failures caused 29 percent
of network outages, followed by a loss of telecom services to facilities (21
percent), CDW said.
The survey also revealed that businesses need to take advanced preparation
more seriously and support employees more effectively with network
accessibility, CDW said.
While 53 percent of respondents said employees are instructed or given the
option to work from home when an expected network disruption approaches (such
as a weather event), only one-third of businesses activate standby
communications and network systems to support increased remote access when
warned of such an event, CDW said.
In fact, while 44 percent of the workforce normally has telecommuting
options, respondents said that only 39 percent of employees could telework
during their most recent network outage, CDW reported.
Regardless of the cause of disruption, more than half of businesses (57
percent) reported productivity losses as the No. 1 negative effect of their
network disruptions, primarily due to reduced access to the network itself or
to applications, data and communications systems.
Other findings, according to CDW:
- 51 percent experienced
problems connecting to their IT network from other locations.
- 50 percent had problems
connecting from inside their business locations.
- Nearly half of respondents
(46 percent) said employees could not access the necessary company
resources to do their jobs.
- Almost one-third (29 percent)
said employees had problems communicating with each other via internal
phone systems and/or email.
- 28 percent said their
networks were slower than expected and could not support the increased
traffic from remote locations.
To obtain a copy of
the full report, go here (free download, registration required).
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