Many Hong Kong businesses not prepared for worst-case scenarios

By SMBWorld Asia Editors | Dec 5, 2011

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Over two-fifths of Hong Kong businesses (41%) do not have a disaster recovery (DR) plan in place for their IT and even more (63%) have no business continuity plans for their workplace requirements.

A string of natural disasters during 2011, including the catastrophic earthquake and tsunami in Japan in March and the recent floods in Thailand, has driven the issue of DR to the top of boardroom agendas, underscoring the huge cost to businesses of natural disasters and their aftermath. While these are extreme examples, the consequences of more common events such as fires or vandalism can also seriously damage a business.

To take the pulse of global business preparedness, the latest survey by Regus, canvassed the opinions of over 12,000 businesspeople in 85 countries, including over 100 in Hong Kong.

The survey found that a significant proportion of firms are taking huge risks with their shareholders' assets by failing to prepare for a worst-case scenario and taking the right precautions.

The study finds that 41% of Hong Kong firms do not have an IT DR plan in place to ensure systems are up and running within 24 hours of a critical incident, compared to 52% in China, 39% in Taiwan, 40% in Singapore, 63% in Japan,  33% in the UK, 46% in USA and 45% globally.

Globally, 55% of firms have no workplace recovery solution that could be available within 24 hours. The trend is even more marked in Hong Kong, where 63% of firms lack workplace DR provision, the highest in the Greater China region.

Another finding is that 31% of Hong Kong businesses view the costs of DR as prohibitively high, slightly lower than the global average of 33%.

Over half of Hong Kong respondents (52%), the lowest in the Greater China region, declared that they would invest in workplace recovery if the service was suitably priced, compared to 55% globally.

Globally, although larger firms are better prepared for disaster recovery than smaller ones, 26% of larger companies still lack a DR facility for their IT systems, and 40% have no workplace DR plan.

Globally, financial services (71%) and ICT businesses (66%) were more likely to have a business continuity plan, although more than 40% of firms in these sectors have no workplace DR arrangement.

"The research reveals that, in spite of reports indicating that the average incident can cost up to US$500,000, disaster recovery planning is not as widespread among Hong Kong businesses as people think – particularly when it comes to arrangements for workspaces, " said Hans Leijten, Regus' Regional Vice President, East Asia.

"Almost a third of businesses in Hong Kong perceive the costs of DR to be high, but many also say they would be willing to pay a monthly fee to access a workplace disaster recovery facility in case of emergency. This is a telling sign that, while too many businesses are taking a gamble, attitudes are changing. As affordable products and services become available around the globe, it is likely that more businesses will finally stop hoping for the best and seriously start planning for the worst."