New Study Reveals Lack of Confidence in Disaster and Information Availability Preparedness among U.S. Executives Surveyed; SunGard Survey Also Unearths Misplaced Confidence in Disaster Preparedness Plans for Dealing with Avian Flu Pandemic

Business Wire, August 28, 2006

WAYNE, Pa. -- A new study commissioned by SunGard Availability Services and conducted by Harris Interactive(R) has uncovered a major confidence gap in disaster preparedness for the companies surveyed. The senior executive respondents say that, while their companies' ability to deliver continuous information availability during a disaster is getting better, they still cannot give their abilities a high grade.

In the survey of U.S.-based senior executives(1), about one-half (46 percent) of the respondents indicate their companies are more prepared compared to last year in their ability to access business-critical data in the event of a disaster. Yet, almost four in 10 (39%) respondents provide grades at a C or lower for their capabilities, citing deficiencies such as inconsistent practices, lack of preparedness and competing priorities.

The percentage of senior executive respondents giving low grade ratings is increasing, compared to similar surveys from the last two years, commissioned by SunGard Availability Services and conducted by Harris Interactive. In 2004, only 24 percent of respondents graded their organizations at a C or lower, unveiling the disturbing trend that U.S. businesses are getting worse at disaster preparedness, not better.

Avian Flu Pandemic Preparedness

The SunGard survey also exposed doubts about how well businesses understand avian flu pandemic preparedness planning. Forty-two percent of respondents indicate their disaster recovery plans would not work if there should be an avian flu pandemic.

Only one in four respondent companies (26 percent) has a formal avian flu pandemic preparedness plan in place to protect their workforce and business in the event of an avian flu pandemic. Even more concerning was the finding that email and telecommunications are the two systems that most frequently experience unplanned disruptions as a result of a cyber attack, power failure or other disaster (53 percent and 46 percent respectively.) Yet 79 percent of respondents believe their technology systems are sufficiently set up to ensure continuous access to business-critical data should their staff be dispersed due to a flu pandemic.

"According to the Federal Government's National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza(2), it is predicted that organizations could face 40 to 50 percent absentee rates during an avian flu pandemic and the recent survey results show businesses are still not doing enough in their preparations," said David Palermo, vice president of marketing at SunGard Availability Services. "A flu pandemic is precisely when effective email and telecommunications systems will need to be available to keep a dispersed workforce connected so businesses can keep on running--and organizations need to have their avian flu pandemic plans in place, now."

Survey Exposes Disconnects Between Businesses, Customers and Partners

Another fact unearthed by the survey was the alarming disconnect about acceptable windows of downtime between a business and its customers and partners. Thirty-five percent of the senior executives polled claimed their organizations can withstand eight to 24 hours of unplanned downtime before their business is affected through either lost revenue, customer satisfaction or lost productivity. Yet 51 percent of them also state customers and partners will only tolerate two hours or less of unplanned downtime.

Additionally, almost 40 percent of respondents admit their companies are not at all, or not very, rigorous at conducting due diligence of partners' abilities to ensure access to business-critical information. This approach can increase the risk of a partner's downtime impacting a company's business operations.

"This year's survey reinforces the imperative that businesses have much more work to do to improve their ability to keep people and information connected, at all times," continued Mr. Palermo. "While it is encouraging that the senior executives surveyed feel they are making improvements, it is still shocking that almost 40 percent of them grade their abilities to ensure continuous access to mission-critical data during a disaster a C or lower. This is a pass/fail situation and there is no room for grey when it comes to planning for information availability to forestall unexpected downtime."

Other survey highlights include:

--95 percent of respondents overwhelmingly agree the tolerance for business systems downtime has narrowed, 28 percent cannot tolerate less than one hour of unplanned downtime.

--42 percent have increased spending to reduce the risk of loss of access to business-critical data during a disaster while the remaining respondents' budgets have mostly stayed the same, compared to one year ago.

--40 percent of respondents cite financial restrictions as the chief barrier that hinders them from making uninterrupted information availability, business continuity and disaster recovery planning a priority; 46 percent say other priorities take precedent.

--40 percent of respondents indicated order entry or customer service systems are where downtime is least tolerated. By comparison, only 2 percent mentioned quality assurance or regulatory compliance systems.