97% do not test backup systems, 50% have plans for outsourcing

Diegem, 8 December 2016 - CIOs and IT managers of listed companies mistakenly assume that their company data is kept safe. Risks such as power outages or fire are underestimated, safety systems are not tested, and too little is invested in redundancy. This is evident from a survey of data center company LCL at Belgian listed companies.

The survey asked the CIOs and IT managers of 168 Belgian listed companies. 87.5% of them are convinced that they are safe from disasters such as fire or prolonged power outages. Remarkably, those who feel safe feel especially "because a power outage is rare". In addition, the fact that they have a disaster recovery service contributes to their sense of security. 5% say that they are "fairly safe," and 7.5% even say that they are not sufficiently safe. The last category of organizations indicates that, in the event of a disaster, the continuity of the organization cannot be guaranteed.

However, when asked whether the safety systems are also tested by actually switching off the electricity, only 3% of respondents respond positively. So 97% will only effectively "test" their backup systems in the event of a disaster.

"Our conclusion is that Belgian listed companies have a false sense of security," concludes Laurens van Reijen, Managing Director of LCL. “The smaller listed companies, but also some larger ones, are often not adequately equipped to handle power outages or other risks. They do not even know to what extent they are really safe, since the backup systems are not being tested. All organizations, but certainly those listed in the context of their corporate governance, should be provided with all necessary security systems that guarantee that the servers are reliable 24/7 and should also really test that regularly. ”

At more than half of the listed companies, the data is stored internally at the head office. Another tenth rely on their own server room or data center at a different, own location. For 44% of the respondents, the server room is smaller than 5 m², which of course does not offer the possibilities of adapted security and specialized personnel.

The majority of respondents do not have a second data center: 53%. This means that they do not have a backup in the event of a fire or theft of the servers. Half of the companies do have plans for outsourcing. For a third of the parties that have two data centers, that second data center is less than 25 km from the first. This means that a major power outage will probably affect both data centers, and that the backup plan will therefore not really help.

“And yet business continuity is a must for most companies in 2016,” says Van Reijen: “The digital transformation ensures that more and more business processes are being digitized. New, disruptive business models are more than ever digitally based and therefore dependent on the availability of the IT infrastructure. Shutting down the maintenance servers is no longer an option: customers must also be able to visit the site in the evening to place orders. Recent examples - such as the technical problems at Delta Airlines, Belgocontrol and the National Register - show that the failure of a server can lead to serious problems. "

In addition, 66% say they are "busy" with cloud. 30% do not have their own IT employees.