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Greater Government support for business continuity planning urged

06 January 2010

The Government needs to do more to ensure that the UK's small businesses survive disasters such as flood, fires, pandemics or terrorist attacks, it has been claimed.

According to the British Insurance Brokers' Association (BIBA), just 15 per cent of 200 directors of small firms polled were aware of the BS25999 British standard in relation to Business Continuity Management.

The survey also discovered 45 per cent of smaller companies have either none or only rough plans in place in the event of a major incident, despite the fact that 80 per cent of affected companies tend to collapse within 18 months of being affected by one.

During the economic downturn, firms are at greater risk than ever and Steve Foulsham, Technical Services Manager for the BIBA, advised: "It is vital to raise and maintain awareness of the need for businesses to prepare for the potential impacts of a natural disaster or terrorist attack."

A recent poll by US firm VMware suggested many small businesses are failing to protect customer data and services from power outages and need to enhance their disaster preparedness.

How confident are you in your business continuity and risk management plans?