Third of U.K. business fails to test disaster plans

The HP-sponsored Pressure Point Index survey of 200 IT managers also found that an additional 29 percent of firms performed tests at six-monthly intervals. The rest, 37 percent, undertook testing on a yearly basis.

One of the authors of the report said that U.K. business is not taking the problem seriously.

"The level of exposure among U.K. companies is worrying," said James Whitty, director of business continuity at HP. "The fact that 84 percent of firms claim to have busines-recovery strategies in place, but only a third are performing regular tests indicates that it just isn't taken seriously."

The findings also showed that two-thirds of U.K. firms have a dedicated recovery manager, while over half rely upon external consultants to assist in planning. Also, 41 percent kept responsibility for recovery in-house, and only five percent rely solely on partners today, down from the 13 percent of those polled a year ago.

Whitty said that business recovery was an area that still appears to be haphazard. "Companies need support to reduce their vulnerability to disaster, protect mission-critical operations against and speed recovery if catastrophe strikes," he said.