A third of medium sized businesses are putting their revenues and reputations at risk by failing to make website contingency plans, says a new poll.
The NetBenefit survey said that failing to ensure that a back-up plan is in place for service in case of disaster threatens the 73 per cent of businesses trading online.
Recent consumer research has shown that web users tend to redirect their business if they find that a previously used site is out of operation or working slowly.
Of the companies that do have contingency plans to cope with viruses, server failures or denial-of-service attacks, just 38 per cent test their plans once a year or more.
"We have been very surprised by the lack of disaster recovery planning taking place," said Jonathon Robinson of NetBenefit.
"Nearly every day we hear about viruses, hacking and other web attacks, let alone natural disasters such as fires or floods.
"Yet, while many companies go to great lengths to protect their physical assets with burglar alarms and other security devices, they do little or nothing to protect their vital, online business."
