Global Switch calls for increased scrutiny of IT resilience by company boards

Global Switch has called on company board directors to 'prioritise the physical housing of IT equipment within the overall business continuity planning process'. This comes as a direct result of its latest pan-European survey, which revealed that companies are facing increasing scrutiny from investors and stakeholders on the subject of regulatory compliance, yet are not necessarily factoring the environment in which they house their IT equipment into their business continuity strategy.

Stringent regulations and industry guidelines in sectors like the financial services industry, including Sarbanes Oxley and Basel II, have spurred board-level executives to pay closer attention to the way corporate data is stored and accessed on a day-to-day basis. However, the study showed that board directors in almost a quarter of European companies are unaware of the importance of a resilient IT environment. Encouragingly, business leaders in the UK were shown to be more conscious of choosing a fit-for-purpose environment than many of their European counterparts, with 88 percent placing the housing of IT infrastructure highest on the corporate agenda.

"Compliance is at the heart of daily operations for a growing majority of companies across Europe. The penalties for failure to meet the increasingly complex list of regulations are now making business continuity a corporate priority," commented Greg Scorziello, CEO of Global Switch. "While the increased board-level awareness of the importance of fit-for-purpose environments to house IT infrastructure is encouraging, there seems to be little evidence that this awareness has been translated into action, with 47 percent of companies still preferring to house mission-critical data in their own offices. This presents an increased level of risk as regulations such as Basel II require companies to maintain compliance at all times - a process made all the more difficult if no appropriate back-up and recovery plans have been established."

Currently, the decision-making responsibility for where mission-critical data is housed is divided. In 41 percent of companies surveyed, the responsibility is jointly shared between the IT and facilities management departments, while 35 percent of companies rely solely on the IT department to make the decision and 12 percent on the facilities management team. Of the remaining 12 percent of respondents, the responsibility for deciding where to house critical IT infrastructure lies with a variety of individuals and departments. Only 1 percent of companies rely on the management board to make the decision.

Scorziello continued, "Unfortunately, the days when companies could continue to operate effectively and meet their regulatory obligations during periods of downtime are long gone. Board-level awareness of the importance of housing mission-critical IT infrastructure in a fit-for-purpose environment is just a first step. Ultimately, ownership of this issue will have to fall under the board's remit in order to secure the funding and management commitment required for industry compliance."

•Date: 13th March 2007 • Region: UK/W.Europe•Type: Article •Topic: IT continuity
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