With the 2012 hurricane season quickly approaching, a new study by AT&T (News - Alert) revealed that more organizations are including mobile security services and cloud computing in their business continuity/disaster recovery plans in an effort to protect their IT infrastructure.

In fact, 83 percent of executives indicated that the planning and implementation of a business continuity plan as being a priority for their businesses and organizations – a 12 percent increase over last year’s national survey, AT&T officials said.

“There’s certainly no shortage of potential threats or disasters around the world and it's evident that executives are taking the necessary measures to ensure their business continuity plans are in place and actionable,” said Chris Costello, assistant vice president, Offer Management, Cloud Services. “We’ve seen a strong emphasis on IT security and continued growth in areas of cloud and mobile applications; implying that companies are embracing the tools and services needed to continue operational activities despite potential threats and disasters.”

Other key findings in the AT&T study include the following:

• Six out of 10 (60 percent) invest in mobile security services with the majority (69 percent) indicating potential security breaches as the most pressing concern.
• 38 percent expressed making investments in cloud computing, while another 34 percent expressed investing in mobile applications.
• 86 percent already have a business continuity plan in place in the event of a disaster or threat – an increase of eight percent over the past five years.

The results for the latest AT&T annual business continuity study shed light on several trends regarding how businesses are preparing themselves for potential disasters and threats. The complexities of maintaining mobility and wireless capabilities during the event of a disaster or security threat has become an increasing aspect of importance for businesses as they consider business continuity planning.

According to the study, 67 percent (two-thirds) of executives surveyed have included wireless network capabilities as part of their business continuity plans and more than half (52 percent) of IT executives surveyed anticipated the spending for mobile security services to increase.

Cloud computing is becoming a critical element of BC plans based on security, performance and cost savings benefits, with 65 percent indicating they will invest in new telecommunications technologies to support their IT infrastructures. In addition, the prevalence of social networking capabilities and mobile networks/devices in the workplace remain a concern for IT executives as they look to minimize the impact of security threats.

The majority of executives (87 percent) have become more concerned about the increased use and potential threats of mobile networks and devices than social networking capabilities (76 percent). In addition, 88 percent of companies surveyed have taken a proactive approach to securing their IT infrastructure. Two-thirds (67 percent) of IT executives indicate that their business continuity plan accommodates the possibility of a “virtual event” such as a potential security breach.

With business continuity plans in place, businesses and organizations are testing and preparing themselves for potential IT threats and disasters. Roughly two-thirds (63 percent) of companies have had their business continuity plans fully tested in the past year.

In related news, disaster preparedness is connected closely with small- and medium-sized businesses’ (SMB) adoption of technologies, including virtualization, cloud computing and mobility, according to the findings from Symantec (News - Alert) Corp.’s 2012 SMB Disaster Preparedness Survey, TMCnet reported.

The survey revealed how willing SMBs are to adopt these services, often with improved disaster preparedness as a goal, according to said Steve Cullen, senior vice president of worldwide marketing for SMB and Cloud at Symantec Corp. (News - Alert) 

“Today’s SMBs are in a unique position to embrace new technologies that not only provide a competitive edge, but also allows them to improve their ability to recover from a disaster while protecting the information that their businesses depend on,” Cullen said.

The survey, which queried 2,053 decision makers from organizations worldwide, also found that although large enterprises are already employing these technologies, SMBs are paving the way toward virtualization, cloud and mobility adoption.