A company's very survival may hinge on its ability to function effectively in a crisis. But that doesn't mean that business continuity is a high priority, even in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks. If anything, time has cooled interest in this area. Except in cases where companies have invested in disaster recovery-related upgrades, what has mostly transpired are policy changes.

Still, research firm IDC expects worldwide sales of IT security and business-continuity products and services to surpass $150 billion by 2006. The research house doesn't anticipate these investments will grow quickly, though. Security and business-continuity spending advanced after Sept. 11, but that investment rush has since fizzled, says IDC's chief research officer, John Gantz. InformationWeek Research's most-recent business-technology study supports this claim. Implementation and support for business continuity and disaster recovery has slipped as an IT endeavor, according to InformationWeek Research's study, Outlook 2003: Priorities 1Q.

Of the 300 business-technology executives interviewed in December about their 2003 budget plans and IT strategies, 65% say that business-continuity planning and improved disaster preparedness are prior-ities. A year ago, 77% named these areas as top priorities.

What has changed? It's easy to attribute this decline to cuts during this extended downturn. But business-continuity issues span a range of concerns, from process to people to communications. Only the most vigilant companies will keep operational disasters in check.

So what's your organization's approach to business continuity in 2003? Share how your strategy has changed over the past 16 months at the address below.

Helen D'Antoni
Senior Editor, Research
hdantoni@cmp.com

General Decline Will your IT organization implement or support business-continuity planning or improved disaster preparedness? Business-continuity planning has fallen in priority for 2003. Some 61% of executives at small companies surveyed report continued commitment, down 14% compared with a year ago. Responses among managers at midsize companies show a similar decline, and larger-sized sites are down just 7% year over year. Top of the Page