Aug, 2003 : Report: Over 60% of Companies Not Prepared For Blackout

📅 August 25, 2003 - Over 60 percent of IT departments did not have formal plans and procedures in place to deal with the blackout that hit the Northeastern United States and Canada on August 14th, according to a recent survey of US companies conducted by Info-Tech Research Group (infotech.com).

Approximately 76 percent of companies surveyed said the blackout had an impact on their organization. But according to the report, most admitted they were not sufficiently prepared.
"I think that this blackout demonstrated that most IT departments, especially those in mid-sized companies, are still flying by the seat of their pants," said Jason Livingstone, analyst with Info-Tech Research Group. "Disaster recovery planning is simply not on their list of priorities."
Info-Tech Research found that 82 percent of companies are concerned that another blackout will occur in the next 12 months and are taking steps to be better protected.
"On a positive note, I think that this blackout was a wake-up call for a lot of companies," said Livingstone. "63% of those surveyed said that they were either going to create a new disaster recovery plan, or update an existing plan."
The study also found that companies are looking into alternative precautions, with 20 percent planning on purchasing a back-up generator and 18 percent planning to review their service agreements with their providers. Finally, 13 percent of respondents said the blackout cost their organization more than $5 million dollars.