Analysts stress the perils of complacency
Despite the terrorist attacks on New York nearly a year ago, many IT directors are still not in a position to cope with a similar catastrophe.
A survey by computer company Dell of 138 IT directors found that 84 per cent of respondents did not have a disaster recovery plan in place should the worst happen.
Analysts said that there is even some uncertainty over what actually constitutes disaster recovery.
"There is confusion among end users; remote mirroring is not disaster recovery and that in turn is not business continuity," explained Josh Krischer, research director at Gartner.
He pointed out that companies which do have a recovery plan often store it on a computer at work, rendering it useless if employees cannot gain entry to their building.
Krischer urged companies to keep plans in a bank safe or at the home of a trusted employee.