"A business continuity plan is like an insurance policy. You don't think about it until you need it. And then it's too late."
And even a calamity isn't always enough to get the idea into people's heads that a plan is necessary. Although about one in five businesses said they'd suffered a disaster in the last 12 months that caused disruption, 75 percent of those that had been hit didn't bother to improve their plan, or even create one if they didn't have one before.
The study also uncovered other bad habits among those businesses. Nationally, nearly 25 percent of disaster plans haven't been updated in the last year, and more than 40 percent haven't been tested during that time.
"It's critical for companies to make sure their plans are up to date and reflect the latest threats," said Allen. "A company can have a great plan, but unless it's relevant, it's of little value." Still, he said, it's no contest between not having a plan and having an outdated one. "With the latter, at least someone has been thinking about it," he said.
Companies in New York tended to test and update their continuity plans much more frequently than enterprises elsewhere. Nearly 90 percent of New York companies have updated their plans, and almost 80 percent have tested them in the last 12 months. "That's probably because of the continuing threat levels there," said Allen, but it also could be because of the fresh memory of last summer's blackout.
