09 Jul 2009

DR affected by 'lack of executive input'

Companies are not taking disaster recovery (DR) preparedness seriously due to a lack of communication between management and staff, it has been claimed.

Patrick Doherty, of Sungard Availability Service, noted in his blog for ZDNet that research carried out by the company showed that while four-fifths of IT executives feel DR is a good idea, only 49 per cent of companies currently have effective DR plans in place.

"The gap in support for funding disaster preparedness may be the result of business decision-makers being less knowledgeable about their company's disaster recovery plans," Mr Doherty noted.

According to eWeek, businesses should always look to ensure employee safety during a crisis above all else, as in the event of an emergency it is important to make sure everyone is safe before worrying about possible data loss.

The website noted that having an efficient evacuation plan in place should be seen as integral to DR planning, as should the use of data backup services to safeguard company information.