eHosting DataFort, a leader in managed IT and advisory services, is conducting its second survey with the Business Continuity Management Institute (BCMI) to better gauge the maturity levels of BCM in organisations.

The survey will benchmark the business continuity management (BCM) levels against global standards and best practices, it said.

The survey that builds upon the success of a similar initiative last year targets companies in the Middle East in various sectors such as oil and gas, manufacturing and IT, banking and finance, services, retail, media, entertainment and utilities across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait and Jordan.

The specialised research will help assess the responsiveness of organisations in the region to crisis situations or disasters that may cause disruptions to day-to-day business operations. Best practices will then be collated and shared with the larger business community to better deal with BCM preparedness for the common benefit of businesses in the region.

“Over the last couple of years, natural disasters have served as a wake-up call for organisations in the Middle East. Incidents such as Cyclone Phet, Gonu in Oman, power outages or the swine flu pandemic have drawn regional attention and have encouraged enterprises to adopt and implement a robust BCM system,” said Yasser Zeineldin, CEO, eHosting DataFort.

“At the same time, companies have also realised that adopting world-class governance and operational best practices are important to ensure customer loyalty, market share, revenues, profitability and reputation.”

“A sound BCM system not only helps organisations to respond effectively to critical situations but also helps retain trust, faith and confidence of key customers and stakeholders without defaulting on deliverables,” he added.

Dhiraj Lal, country manager, BCMI, said: “The reality is that a large number of businesses, especially in the region, are not adequately prepared to survive major disasters.”

“Even minor incidents that are not tackled correctly have often led to such a scenario causing loss of current and future business and overall profitability, negative publicity and eventually closure of operations. BCM has been the key parameter that helps assess the foresight, responsibility and commitment of the top management,” Lal added.

The BCMI is a specialised business continuity (BC) and disaster recovery (DR) professional educational institution. – TradeArabia News Service