The only thing that is certain today is uncertainty itself so how well are businesses prepared for imminent crises or sudden business-disrupting events‾ Most companies in developed markets have established measures to cope with such incidents but how protected are business in China from unforeseen acts of God or disruptive events induced by man or machine‾
These are the questions recently posed to businesses across China in the KPMG Business Continuity Management Study in China 2009, conducted with Enterprise Innovation.
The study involved 215 executives from Hong Kong, Macau and Mainland China and analyzed how they mitigate risks associated with major disruptions using Business Continuity Management (BCM) programs, while examining the interdependency and regulatory issues that affect these programs.
Fast uptake
In terms of overall awareness and adoption, China organizations seem to be maturing but with much room for improvement. Out of all the companies who took part in the survey, 37% had a BCM program and a further 21% were in the process of having one. Critically 42% of companies surveyed did not have a program in place.
The adoption of BCM programs in China is a fairly recent activity with over 30% having had it for only the last 1-2 years while 28% have had it for less than one year. This has likely been spurred by events in Asia such as the Indian Ocean Tsunami, threats of a bird flu pandemic and the Internet disruptions from the Taiwan earthquake. The fast uptake is also a result of growing globalization and the need to be on a par with other developed markets in US and Europe as these are more mature in their BCM programs.
At the same time, the BCM programs currently deployed across China were fairly comprehensive, with 29% of those with a BCM plan in place indicating that their plans covered all critical processes, independent departments and divisions, and a further 28% saying that theirs covered all business processes and interdependent service providers and suppliers. Around 24% of respondents said that their BCM program was essentially an IT disaster recovery plan, showing that the BCM concept is now viewed by many companies as more than just an IT issue.
In terms of actual full-time dedicated personnel on business continuity, the situation is mixed. Thirty seven percent said that only 1-2 employees have been assigned this role, while 16% said 3-5 employees. This left 43% of firms surveyed with no dedicated staff to business continuity duties.
However, the key people in charge of the programs held high responsibilities illustrating the high importance attached to BCM for those that had programs in place. Around 18% of respondents said that their Executive Board was responsible for implementing the program with 25% indicating their General Management was the primary owner.
Internal outages