Thin Ice – The continuous survey of business interruptions produced by sdpl solutions revealed this week that fire remains top of the list as most prolific business interruption.
The top 6 business interruptions between April 2009 and April 2010 are reported as:
Fire – 22
Power system failure – 14
IT systems failure – 12
Temporary evacuation – 12
Public network failure – 10
Flood – 7
However sdpl solutions are quick to point out:
We make no claims that the information presented here is an exhaustive survey of all business interruptions that a number that have occurred during the current survey “window”. We mainly use information from the public domain and therefore do not include many of the disruptive events that doubtless do occur within companies but are not reported in the general media.
However if we take these results as a snapshot of what is happening globally then the general trend is highlighting the key areas that businesses need to be planning for in their continuity plans and exercises.
Perhaps more suprising though is the report’s introductory editorial focus on the current political and economic climate, warning firms and industries to beware of:
‘Swinging cuts in government funded IT projects, potentially compromising resilience and security’ and…
‘Your firm or industry being made a scapegoat in the media. Financial firms, particularly investment banks, bear the blame for some of the world recession. Firms that do well because of windfall profits made in rising commodity markets (i.e. oil) may also receive unwelcome accusations of “profiteering” when others are suffering. The unwelcome media attention could result in their business premises offices becoming targets for “retribution”.
What is certain is that risks and threats are abundant as ever and stem from a variety of sources. Therefore companies who plan to survive any kind of business interruption should be prepared!
