New research from the Cloud Industry Forum (CIF) suggests a lack of confidence in disaster recovery and backup capabilities. The CIF’s survey asked participants to identify which applications represented the biggest risk to their business in the event of failure. Disaster recovery and data backup services were ranked the highest priority amongst those surveyed.

The BCI released its fifth Horizon Scan report today – the association’s annual analysis of the top threats as perceived by business continuity managers. Conducted with the British Standards Institution, this year’s findings reveal the business preparedness of about 600 organisations globally, and shows cyber attack as the greatest concern for the majority (85%) of business continuity managers. Shifting up the list from third last year, data breach was next, worrying about 80% of respondents. These are not surprising conclusions, given the amount of damage a cyber attack or data breach can do. Neither is it a shock to see that supply chain disruption remains in the top ten (even if it fell two places from fifth last year to seventh this year).

There is just one week until the deadline for entries for this year’s Business Continuity Awards. Stand out against the competition and submit an entry in one of our 20 categories – showcasing your best people, products and projects.

The risk landscape for businesses is changing substantially, according to the annual Allianz Risk Barometer, released today. While businesses are less concerned about the impact of traditional industrial risks such as natural catastrophes or fire, Allianz’s study shows they are increasingly worried about the impact of other disruptive events, fierce competition in their markets and cyber incidents.

We are delighted to announce that the Business Continuity Awards 2016 are open for entries. Now in its 18th year, the awards recognise those business continuity, security, resilience and risk professionals whose innovative strategies and industry savvy make them stand out above the rest.

Business interruption now typically accounts for a much higher proportion of the overall loss than was the case 10 years ago, according to data from Allianz. The average large BI property insurance claim is now in excess of €2m (€2.2m: US $2.4m), which is 36% higher than the corresponding average property damage claim of just over €1.6m.

Despite multiple warnings about the consequences of failing to have a robust disaster recovery plan in place, a new study suggests that only about a third of companies test their disaster recovery plans on a regular basis. Of the sample surveyed by Kroll Ontrack across the UK and Germany, only 9% of companies said they test their plans every one to five months and another 29% every six to 12 months.

The UK Defence Club, provider of FD&D (legal costs) insurance to the maritime industry, has announced that there will be no change to its premiums for the 2016 policy year, the second consecutive zero premium increase. The organisation, managed by Thomas Miller, has cited its financial strength as enabling it to freeze premiums, and the Club will also continue its Continuity Credits loyalty scheme, rewarding Members with premium reductions.

Ineffective management of supply chains is leaving organisations open to severe disruptions and the high financial costs incurred as a result. Nearly one in ten organisations are not aware of who their key suppliers are, leaving them open to severe disruption as they are unable to manage their supply chain effectively. This is according to a report published this week by the Business Continuity Institute.

New research suggests highlights some worrying trends in business continuity among SMEs. The study shows that just 27% of small businesses have a business continuity plan in place, compared to 68% of medium organisations and 75% of large organisations. Worse still, 73% of SMEs questioned admitted they had not tested their plan in the last 12 months, with nearly half not planning to within the next year.

The risk of organisations breaching international human rights regulations has risen significantly over the last quarter as key Asian economies adapt to tougher economic conditions. Rising labour costs in China have led companies to diversify their supply chains into other high-risk countries such as Vietnam, especially for electronics, apparel and footwear.

Phoenix has today launched its active Archive as a Service (AaaS) offering, the UK’s first interactive cloud-based archive service to also be fully integrated into Phoenix’s IT Disaster Recovery as a Service offering. The active Archive as a Service will provide organisations of all sizes, with a resilient and economic data storage solution that also remains fully accessible and available for users to search, access and retrieve their archived data.

Flood modelling specialist JBA Risk Management has been commissioned by Flood Re broker Guy Carpenter to develop a probabilistic loss model for flooding in the UK. The model, likely to be completed later this year, will be used to draw a more complete and sophisticated picture of the risk being underwritten by Flood Re, the flood reinsurance fund being created to provide affordable domestic flood cover in high-risk areas.

As uncertainty rises over the potential for Greece to exit from the euro currency, the Lloyd’s Market Association (LMA) has reissued its guidance and a model clause relating to the withdrawal of a country from the eurozone. The association’s aim is to minimise risks in the event of an exit by encouraging policyholders and carriers to include appropriate clauses in order to safeguard their intentions.

The winners of the 2015 Business Continuity Awards were announced last night at a Gala Dinner hosted by comedian Josh Widdicombe at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London's Park Lane. A full review of the most celebrated event in the industry calendar will be published in the July issue of CIR Magazine. In the meantime, our worthy winners are as follows. Congratulations to everyone shortlisted, and particularly to...