Study Finds IT Departments Not Prepared for Blackout

According to a recent survey of US companies conducted by Info-Tech Research Group, more than 60% of IT departments did not have formal plans and procedures in place to deal with the blackout. Although more than 76% of companies surveyed said that the blackout had an impact on their organization, most of them admitted that they were not sufficiently prepared.

Info-Tech reports that 82% of companies are concerned that another blackout will hit their area within the next twelve months, and are taking steps to ensure that they will be better prepared for the next time. “On a positive note, I think that this blackout was a wake-up call for a lot of companies,” said Jason Livingstone, Analyst at Info-Tech Research Group. “63% of those surveyed said that they were either going to create a new disaster recovery plan, or update an existing plan.”

We'd add this for our clients: updates to "disaster recovery plans" should include provisions to ensure "business continuity" throughout events of mass disruption, to the greatest extent possible, not just recovery after the fact.