IDC survey provides Asia Pacific disaster recovery planning insights

A recent IDC survey has found that many Asia Pacific businesses may still be highly susceptible to disruptions from security breaches or natural disasters. While more than 80 percent of the organisations surveyed have taken steps to put in place security measures, few have progressed into the more comprehensive deployment of disaster recovery solutions. The implementation of disaster recovery measures is one indication of organisations going beyond point-security measures to adopt a more holistic approach towards a secure and available IT infrastructure. From the survey, only 36 percent of respondents have disaster recovery measures in place.

These findings and more are published in IDC's report ‘Security and Continuity 2005 Delegate Survey Results’ (Doc# AP322365M).

Overall, security remains at the top of the list of concerns for the region's IT managers and CIOs. Because of the way IT has become integrated into the fabric of the business, ensuring that the IT infrastructure remains robust and able to ward off unwelcome attacks is paramount. When asked which security and continuity measures companies currently have in place, storage and archiving came at the top of the list, with 81.4 percent of respondents responding positively. This is a good indication that organisations recognize that storage and archiving form the fundamental basis from which any disaster recovery efforts can be made. Coming in a close second was security software (81 percent), which covers anti-virus applications and intrusion detection tools.

While the level of understanding appears high, many organisations have yet to put in place the fundamental plans and tools required to ensure they can withstand attacks and recover from disasters when, and if, they occur. Of nine critical security measures surveyed, seven measures individually registered less than 60 percent take-up by respondents. This suggests that organisations may not have thoroughly planned their security measures and most likely deploy them only when security issues arise.

"Security risks are becoming progressively more sophisticated, and further efforts by organisations are required to keep pace with the dangers faced," commented Willie Low, market analyst, Infrastructure Software, IDC Asia/Pacific. "Many organisations have yet to adopt the additional security measures which they can use to arm themselves against these new threats. However, the awareness of the need for these measures is growing, and we expect to see higher adoption rates for enhanced security measures over the next year."

Similar weaknesses are evident in the area of disaster recovery and business continuity strategy. Across the region, only 36 percent of respondents indicated that their organisation had such a strategy in place. Singapore leads the way with 54 percent, and Australia ranked second with 52 percent. China came in last with 13 percent.

After implementing business continuity strategies, the key question is: After all the efforts, do they work? Almost all (97 percent) tested their strategies at least once a year, but IDC found that of these, two-thirds carried out the exercise less than once every quarter. IDC recommends that security and business continuity measures be tested at least once every quarter to keep them up-to-date with the latest available enhancement or improvements.

•Date: 10th Nov 2005 • Region: Asia Pacific • Type: Article •Topic: BC statistics
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