New business continuity (BC) investments for the sub-Saharan Africa region are of the highest in the world. Business Continuity Institute's Horizon Scan 2014 Survey Report found 35% of companies in this region are more likely to increase BC budgets, compared to the 18% worldwide average.
"Southern Africa is certainly making inroads into catching up to more developed markets," says Stratus Technologies' business development executive Brendan Widlake. "However, the report shows only 50% of companies in our region are maintaining spend, which is somewhat behind the rest of the world."
Through government incentives and vendor collaboration, Widlake believes SA could get the boost it needs to keep pace with international standards. "If we want to jumpstart as an industry, we need to work smarter," he says.
Incentivise, don't insist
It makes sense - the stronger a country's regulations, the more mature its BC and disaster recovery (DR) market will be. Regulations can (and are) used to bully companies into certain behaviour, such as ensuring BC strategies are implemented.
Widlake suggests encouraging uptake through government incentivising, such as tax incentives or promotion through government channels, rather than regulatory enforcement.
"BC could be included in the Industrial Development Corporation's (IDC) business development scorecard, for instance. They have so many criteria for funding, but they don't request that their investments are protected through BC and DR strategies. Although this needn't be a prerequisite, benefits, such as better interest rates, could be offered as incentive."
Don't compete, collaborate
BC and DR vendors are too focused on competition, and this is hurting the industry. "Marketing and advertising messages are motivated by gaining market-share, and they become misleading. Potential customers are promised a silver bullet, meanwhile BC and DR only form part of a bigger puzzle," Widlake says.
It's not too late to re-educate the market, though. Widlake suggests the industry collaborate on a wide-scale public awareness campaign aimed at simplifying and demystifying BC and DR. "It will take a fairly large, well-organised effort to pull it off, but the benefits would far outweigh the negatives."
Ultimately, SA's economy needs local businesses to step up to international standards. "Global organisations expect their foreign partners to have BC and DR strategies in place, so investments are protected in the event of a disaster," says Widlake. "Shouldn't this reason be motivation enough?"
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