Two out of three UK businesses unprepared for disasters

London, 20th June, 2006 – New research from Mitel, the trusted provider of IP communications solutions, has revealed that more than two out of three (68%) UK businesses (with a £1 million plus turnover) are ill-prepared for unforeseen events, admitting it would take them two working days or longer to become operational following a disaster. This is an interesting revelation considering the number of UK firms with business continuity plans in place has nearly tripled in the last six years .

Not only is business disruption estimated to cost businesses on average £6,000 per day, but a third (32%) of the companies surveyed admitted they would be prepared to take an even bigger hit on profits by giving staff the day off if they were unable to access the office.

Over a quarter (26%) of senior managers told researchers they would attempt to rely on mobile phones to keep their business running, pointing to the lack of planning around telecoms protection. Whilst the use of mobile phones beyond the office seems like a straightforward solution, it is not only costly but networks quickly become jammed in the event of a full-scale disaster. 

Graham Bevington, UK managing director at Mitel, said: “The sheer number and variety of disasters that hit during 2005, from the London bombings to the explosion at Buncefield, sent a shock wave through UK businesses. Although business continuity has become a higher priority, it’s clear that the vast proportion of UK firms are ill-prepared to maintain operations if employees are unable to get to work. Ultimately, there is no point in having a plan on paper if it takes days to put into action. With the threat from disease and terrorism ever prevalent, it is important to understand that relying on mobile phones is not enough to safeguard the business.”

However, larger companies, with a turnover of over £20 million, are proving to be better prepared to address business continuity planning, with two thirds (66%) estimating they could resume operations within 24 hours.

The results also revealed some interesting sector variances. The retail industry in particular was highlighted as the least prepared to cope with disasters, with 64 percent taking more than 48 hours and 28 percent requiring over a week to get back up and running. As competition from online retailers takes its toll on the high street, the results point to a worryingly high risk of retailers losing sales and customers in the event of a disaster.

Some companies have taken the step of using IP communications to enable users to maintain productivity, whether they are in the office or not.  The ubiquity of home broadband has catapulted this into a viable solution for disaster recovery situations.

Bob Escourt, group telecoms manager at Natural History Museum, said: “Although everyone has mobile phones that can be used should they not able to reach the office, this presents its own problems in terms of networks becoming jammed, lack of access to contact details and high costs. By using IP phones from home or another office, staff will simply be able to log on from a remote location and have the same functionality that they have at their desk.”

The survey was undertaken by Continental Research on behalf of Mitel Networks in February 2006 among a national sample of 200 Managing Directors, Financial Directors and other senior managers at companies with an annual turnover of over £1m.

Summary of results

Time to become operational following a disaster:
	Up to one working day	20%
	24-48 hours	38%
	Over 48 hours	30%
	Don’t know	12%
What managers would tell staff if physical access to office was impossible:
	Give everyone the day off	32%
	Rely on mobile phones	26%
	Tell staff to log on remotely	18%
	Work from another premises	10%
	Other	14%

¹Source: Deloitte and Touche and CPM Group
²Source: DTI Information Security Survey 2006

About Mitel
Mitel is a leading provider of integrated communications solutions and services for business customers. Mitel’s voice-centric IP-based communications solutions consist of a combination of telephony hardware and software that integrate voice, video and data communications with business applications and processes. These solutions enable our customers to realize significant cost benefits and to conduct their business more efficiently and effectively by enabling enhanced communications, information sharing and collaboration within a business and with customers, partners and suppliers. Mitel is headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, with offices, partners and resellers worldwide. For more information, visit www.mitel.com

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