Critical gap in comms

VoiceNation, a US provider of outsourced voice telephony and disaster recovery solutions, has released the results of a study that exposes shortfalls in most companies` disaster recovery planning regarding critical voice communications, according to a release.

The survey shows many organisations risk severe financial hardship and business disruption in the face of a disaster, natural or otherwise.

Key findings were 95% of companies agreed there was a critical need for business continuity planning for voice communications, only 2% confirmed they had such a plan in place and 100% stated daily operations would be interrupted if phones were shut down for an extended period.

Businesses in hurricane-prone regions in the US are urged to "be prepared" for an unusually busy 2006 season. Less than a month away, expectations for this season include 17 named storms forming in the Atlantic basin with nine strengthening into hurricanes, according to scientists and storm probability experts.

To prepare businesses for the season, NeverFail`s "Expect the Unexpected" webinar series begins on 10 May. Jon Toigo, a data protection and disaster recovery expert, will speak on business value and strategies for disaster recovery planning, according to a release.

The second webinar is set for 17 May. Disaster recovery for Microsoft server environments will be presented by John Posavatz, NeverFail VP of product management. To register for any of the webinars, visit TechTarget`s SearchWinIT Web site.

Hitachi Data Systems, application optimised storage solution provider and a subsidiary of Hitachi, has announced its agenda for the Continuity Insights Management Conference 2006, being held from 8 to 10 May 2006 at the Sheraton, New Orleans, the company has said in a statement.

The business impact of downtime and best practices in preserving data integrity will be key themes for the company.

Three Hitachi Data Systems representatives will speak at the event: Dennis Wenk, principal business consultant, business continuity and resiliency; Claus Mikkelsen, chief scientist and senior director, storage applications; and Rosalinda R Schulman, director, data protection, global solution business line.