The severity of the threat from IT system outages was one of several factors prompting companies to increase attention devoted to risks associated with their operations.
Some 47 per cent of risk managers questioned for an EIU survey on business resilience said that unplanned downtime of information technology lasting 24 hours or more could jeopardise the survival of their companies.
Three-quarters of survey respondents said they had increased time and resources dedicated to operational risk management, while 71 per cent said they had increased focus on business continuity programs
Loss of data and human error were seen as the most significant in terms of operational risk management.
“The results of the survey illustrate the degree to which companies now rely on their IT systems, as well as the devastating consequences that can ensue from even a short period of disruption,” said the report’s editor Rob Mitchell.
“Discussions of business continuity often centre around catastrophic events, such as terrorist attack or pandemic outbreak, but our survey indicates that it is the more mundane and likely problems, such as power outage, human error and unplanned downtime that pose the gravest threat to organisations,” Mr Mitchell said.
The report found risk managers were “reasonably confident” about the processes they use to identify risks and to ensure that the board is made aware of significant problems, with 61 per cent saying that they conduct risk assessment successfully, and 52 per cent giving themselves a similar rating for reporting on key risks to the board.
Communicating risk issues with employees and with the extended enterprise – like partners and suppliers – tends to be less successful. Only 31 per cent of respondents said they communicate successfully on operational risk issues with employees, and just 19 per cent gave themselves a similar rating for their communication with the extended enterprise.
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