Enterprises Urged to Address Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Plans

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Enterprises that are not properly prepared for unexpected interruptions in their businesses—such as power outages, terrorist attacks, server failures, natural disasters and other events—will find their operations jeopardized, profits negatively impacted, and employees potentially placed in peril. To avoid and minimize such threats, it is vital for enterprises to evaluate their business continuity and disaster recovery (BCDR) strategies now, according to MIR3, Inc., the leading provider of Intelligent Notification (IN) systems to enterprises, universities and government organizations.

“Managing business continuity is not an easy feat; however, enterprises must make it a priority,” stated Amir Moussavian, president and CEO of MIR3. “Instant, two-way communication with employees and administration can be the difference between success and failure when it comes to execution of a business continuity or disaster recovery plan. Additionally, companies that invest in alert systems are finding added value, using the technology to communicate with traveling employees about business challenges, manage correspondence with clients and receive and interpret real-time feedback from recipients.”

A March 2008 report published by the Aberdeen Group encourages companies of all sizes to review, test and implement BCDR plans. To gather the metrics for its paper, Aberdeen surveyed more than 150 organizations about their BCDR plans and needs. The study indicated that 76 percent of companies that currently maintain a BCDR plan said risk of business interruption was the primary factor driving them to implement the plans. Furthermore, the report pointed out that while 62 percent of the companies surveyed experienced between one and five business interruption events in the last 12 months, 34 percent said they still did not have a BCDR strategy.

“Our study stated that, on average, businesses indicated their operations were interrupted by an unforeseen event for approximately four hours,” said Jeffery Hill, senior research analyst, data management and storage practice at Aberdeen Group. “The amount of time that it takes to recover from a four-hour server outage can cause business losses disproportionate to the size of the event in terms of lost revenue or data. Since enterprises can be severely set back by such unforeseen disruptions, it is necessary for them to plan ahead and address their company’s BCDR needs. Businesses should also consult with vendors to discuss which alert notification system can efficiently send messages to all of their organization’s employees within seconds via text message, cell phone, TTY, SMS and e-mail.”

For a copy of the full Aberdeen report, please contact Kelly Hamor or Abby Lurie at (619) 234-0345.

About Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company

Aberdeen is a leading provider of fact-based research and market intelligence that delivers demonstrable results. Having benchmarked more than 30,000 companies in the past two years, Aberdeen is uniquely positioned to educate users to action: driving market awareness, creating demand, enabling sales, and delivering meaningful return-on-investment analysis. As the trusted advisor to the global technology markets, corporations turn to Aberdeen^TM for insights that drive decisions.

As a Harte-Hanks Company, Aberdeen plays a key role of putting content in context for the global direct and targeted marketing company. Aberdeen's analytical and independent view of the “customer optimization” process of Harte-Hanks (Information – Opportunity – Insight – Engagement – Interaction) extends the client value and accentuates the strategic role Harte-Hanks brings to the market. For additional information, visit Aberdeen http://www.aberdeen.com or call (617) 723-7890, or to learn more about Harte-Hanks, call (800) 456-9748 or go to http://www.harte-hanks.com.

MIR3

San Diego-based MIR3, Inc. is the leading provider of Intelligent Notification systems to enterprises, universities and government organizations, offering the industry’s only Global Enterprise Platform. MIR3’s real-time, two-way notification solutions are trusted by more than 80 of the FORTUNE 100 companies, more than 150 esteemed colleges and universities, and numerous local, state and federal agencies. MIR3’s Global Enterprise Platform features products that disseminate mission critical information to and from any communication device across any medium including e-mail, landline, mobile phone, SMS, pager, PDA, satellite phone, TTY, and fax. For more information, please visit www.mir3.com.