Nearly half of UK businesses are struggling to embed business continuity management (BCM) into their organisation’s culture, new research suggests.
According to a poll by business continuity services firm SunGard, 56% of businesses believe their BCM policy is generally ‘good’, but 44% recognised they were failing to embed it within the organisation.
None of the survey respondents were fully compliant with BS 25999, the new British standard for BCM which is set to launch in September 2007.
According to SunGard, this is a sign that business continuity planning ‘is still not receiving the necessary input and support that it requires at the highest level of the organisation’.
“This survey reinforces two of the principal tenets of BS 25999,” said Ron Miller, managing consultant at SunGard Availability Services.
“Firstly, business continuity management cannot and must not be the sole preserve of the IT department. Instead it needs to permeate through the whole business and be woven into the fabric of the organisation, with input and leadership from the highest level.
“Secondly, business continuity management is a continual process, and therefore regular and comprehensive testing is essential to keep business continuity processes up to date and relevant as the organisation evolves.”
© Crimson Business Ltd. 2007