European banking industry attitudes towards IT continuity explored
97 percent of banks polled during the research stated that they were confident that their mission critical IT infrastructure was housed in a resilient, fit-for-purpose environment. 93 percent of banks surveyed allocate a specific part of their budget to prepare and maintain the physical environment in which their IT infrastructure is located, indicating a high awareness of the impact that high quality physical environments have on business continuity. Julian King, commercial director of Global Switch observes: “The banking community is to be commended for having such an enlightened view on the housing of their mission critical infrastructure. It’s clear that having IT infrastructure in a facility solely designed for that purpose can only have a positive effect on the resilience of a business, and the results of this survey indicate that the banking sector has embraced this concept wholeheartedly.” A key factor in the banking industry’s attitude can be linked to the consideration of regulations such as Basel II and Sarbanes-Oxley when assessing the resilience and security of IT infrastructure. Of those polled, nearly 70 percent of banks admitted that this was a significant consideration. Auditors and key stakeholders were cited as another reason many banks are keen to make sure their IT systems suffer minimal disruption, with 91 percent agreeing that interruptions would be of major concern to these groups. Julian King concludes: “The banking world is setting the standard for other industries by ensuring that their mission critical IT infrastructure is located in a fit-for-purpose environment. It’s vital that other industries take note of this as part of a comprehensive business continuity strategy by seeing that their IT is housed in purpose-built facilities that provide flexible, resilient, cost-effective and secure environments.”
•Date: 18th Jan 2006• Region: UK/W.Europe • Type: Article •Topic: BC stats |
