Few UK small businesses are ready to bounce back if they have a business disruption, even though it would lose them business. As consumers, four out of five respondents say they would walk off to another supplier if they could not get the goods or services they wanted immediately. This is the conclusion of the first ever Bouncebackability Index* from SunGard Availability Services, the pioneer and leading provider of information availability and business continuity services.
The 'Bouncebackability Index' shows that only a third of managers of SMEs in the UK are taking steps to ensure that their business can continue to operate normally under any circumstances. But as consumers, they are far less understanding when a product or service is unavailable. As consumers, less than 10 percent of those surveyed would wait for a product to become available at a later date if they found it to be out of stock when visiting a retailer; while more than 80 percent would select another product or go to a different retailer.
Keith Tilley, managing director UK and executive vice president Europe, SunGard Availability Services, said: “It appears to be a case of 'Do as I say, not as I do' for small business managers. They admit to feeling pressure from customers to show their resilience and they clearly expect businesses to be able to provide them with the service or product they are seeking, and will go to a competitor if something is not available. Yet they are doing very little to protect their own business from this type of switching."
SMEs within the UK would struggle to resume normal business operations in the event of a business disruption. Forty percent would suffer total[1] or severe[2] impairment to business operations in the event of computer hardware failure; 45 percent would suffer total or severe impairment to business operations following a power cut or a flood; and only 10 percent would suffer no impairment and be able to function as normal in the event of a fire.
Chris Harman, IT Director of Newhall Publications Ltd, an SME sized publisher said: “We realised some time ago that we simply could not afford any downtime within our business. As a small company, the consequences of not being able to deliver a quality service to our customers would be extremely severe and the actual investment is minimal when compared to the damage any downtime would cause to our brand reputation and customer loyalty. Putting a business continuity plan in place has allowed us to better understand the information flow within our business and identify weaknesses and critical business functions that need to be protected.”
Less than 10 percent of SME managers surveyed had heard of BS 25999, the first British Standard for Business Continuity Management, which was launched in October 2007. The standard establishes definitions of key business continuity processes, and lays down guidelines for the development, testing and analysis of business continuity plans. On being told about the standard, nearly 30 percent of SME managers said that they would now plan to achieve certification.
In response to these survey findings, SunGard Availability Services has launched SafetyNet 24/7, (http://www.safetynet247.co.uk/), a new range of services dedicated to supporting the needs of SMEs. SafetyNet 24/7 provides SMEs with free consultancy and low cost training, drawing on SunGard's 30 years of experience of business continuity.
*About the Research
The Bouncebackability Index is based on research carried out by YouGov on behalf of SunGard Availability Services during May and June 2008. Respondents were small business owners and managers drawn from across the UK. 1,126 people were interviewed through on online omnibus survey.
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[1] Total impairment to business operations is when normal business operations are suspended entirely
[2] Severe impairment to business operations is when a business is only able to continue to operate with very basic functions (e.g. answering telephone calls or opening mail)