Fear of disruption in businesses hinders local disaster recovery
Dubai, UAE. - 12 August 2009 - According to a recent survey conducted by Symantec, the potential loss of data (78%) and the actual cost of downtime (48%) are the top two concerns for UAE companies when it comes to disaster recovery. The survey which was carried out on 1650 companies in 24 countries globally, including the UAE, observed a shift in attitude in local organizations which are increasing utilizing and testing their disaster recovery plans like their international counterparts.
According to the survey, the best UAE organisations compare very favourably to their international correspondents, with 76% indicating that they were testing their DR systems every six months or more frequently. "This is the clearest indication thus far that the top rungs of UAE organisations are becoming more serious about the implementation and testing of their disaster recovery plans," says Anthony Harrison, senior technical account manager, Symantec. "There are genuine business drivers for ensuring that a company's people, processes and technology can be relied on when they are needed most."
The top reasons for invoking DR plans in the UAE were hardware or software issues causing system failure (84%), and external computer threats such as viruses or hacking attempts (80%)
"Preparation is critical," says Harrison. "It is possible to build system tests in such a way that they can be run frequently without disrupting business operations. Greater automation in the testing process is key to ensuring that these tests have a minimal impact on the business."
Other notable research outcomes for UAE organisations were:
66% have conducted impact assessments related to risks from configuration change and 64% have experienced outages caused by configuration drift between their primary and DR sites.
While UAE expects 2009 DR budgets to remain flat (in line with other countries worldwide), there is more local need to increase them in the next 12-24 months than in the US (48% predicting an increase in UAE against just 29% in the US)
When looking at past DR tests only 18% claim that they have worked as expected and the bulk of test failures are attributed to people and technologies not doing what they were supposed to do.
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About the 2009 Symantec Disaster Recovery Research Report
In its fifth year, the 2009 Symantec Disaster Recovery Research report is an annual global study commissioned by Symantec to highlight business trends regarding disaster recovery planning and preparedness. Conducted by independent market research firm Applied Research West during June 2009, the study polled more than 1650 IT managers in large organizations across 24 countries in the U.S. and Canada, Europe and the Middle East, Asia Pacific and South America to gain insight and understanding into some of the more complicated factors associated with disaster recovery.
About Symantec
Symantec is a global leader in providing security, storage and systems management solutions to help consumers and organizations secure and manage their information-driven world. Our software and services protect against more risks at more points, more completely and efficiently, enabling confidence wherever information is used or stored. More information is available at www.symantec.com.
© Press Release 2009
