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Report reveals firms may not be taking 'business process resilience' seriously enough(M2 PressWIRE Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) London - According to a new report from FT Remark and Wipro (NYSE:WIT), business process resilience is mission-critical, but businesses may be missing opportunities to fortify themselves. In a global survey of 330 C-suite executives, nearly all respondents (98%) agreed that technology risk management is important or very important to the overall running of their firms, and 84% felt their firms' technology risk management programmes add value. But 35% described their firms' spending on technology risk management as 'focused on the next year', with a further 17% working on a 'project-by-project basis'. Less than half (41%) described their spending as 'focused on the long-term'. In addition, only 15% of those surveyed said decisions on technology risk management were made at board level, even though system failures have implications that reverberate throughout businesses' ecosystems. This report seeks to identify how businesses are rising to the challenges that technology presents, and how they are making their businesses more resilient in the process through strategies, investments and partnerships. "In developing resilience plans, businesses should consider the full range of their operations, from customers to third party suppliers," Nick Cheek, Managing Editor at Remark, part of the Mergermarket Group, explains. "Businesses should also concentrate on making themselves agile and modular, so that they can minimize the impact of negative events," he concludes. Technology has also brought fantastic opportunities to businesses of all sizes. Data is power: the more businesses can understand about their customers, partners and products, the more agile and effective they can be. "Firms should think of business process resilience broadly," says Alexis Samuel, Global Managing Partner, Wipro Consulting Services, Wipro Ltd. "Rather than being considered fodder for CIOs or CTOs, corporates should view these issues as board-level ones that have far reaching implications for disparate business arms." Balasubramanian Ganesh, Chief Executive - Products & Solutions business, Wipro adds: "Over the years, the level of investment has not kept pace with the level required to address inherent and emerging risks in provision of services to customers. The aggregate impacts of this under-investment, accompanied by increase in customer expectations, have created risks to service which are no longer acceptable. Such risks will typically need to be addressed by a significant and sustained programme of investment." Other key findings of the report include: At 65%, the largest share of respondents says that integrating new technologies with old is one of their biggest challenges. This is followed by projects being too difficult or complex (52%). The most pressing area of concern over the next 12 months is business continuity and disaster recovery planning, with respondents rating this a 4.09 on a scale of 1 to 5 (where 1 is not at all important and 5 is very important). Regarding social media, 74% of respondents say that reputational or brand damage is a potential pitfall. For those who agree that technology risk management adds value, 72% say that it does so by increasing customer satisfaction or confidence. When thinking about business process resilience, 88% of respondents consider their own firm, with only 65% thinking about their customers. The report, Building Confidence: The Business of Resilience, identifies key trends in business process resilience (defined as a firm's 'ability to cope with change, both expected and unexpected'), particularly in relation to managing technology risk. With globalization and hyperconnectivity, resilience is being taken very seriously at a board level and external consultants are being brought in to bridge the skills gap that exist as new technologies emerge. About the report FT Remark interviewed 330 C-suite executives from corporations with an annual turnover of US$500m or greater. The interview pool was comprised of 113 respondents from Europe, 100 respondents from the USA, 80 respondents from Asia-Pacific, and 37 respondents from Africa. To qualify for the study, respondents must either have allocated budget to technology risk management in the past two years, or have plans to do so in the coming year. For more information, please contact: Wipro Media Contact: Gitanjali Sreepal +91-80-39918018 [email protected] Mergermarket Media Contact Flora Wilke Head of PR, EMEA, The Mergermarket Group Tel: +44 (0)20 7059 6384 Email: [email protected] About Wipro: Wipro Ltd. (NYSE:WIT) is a leading information technology, consulting and business process services company that delivers solutions to enable its clients do business better. Wipro delivers winning business outcomes through its deep industry experience and a 360 degree view of "Business through Technology" - helping clients create successful and adaptive businesses. A company recognized globally for its comprehensive portfolio of services, a practitioner's approach to delivering innovation, and an organization wide commitment to sustainability, Wipro has a workforce of over 140,000, serving clients in 175+ cities across 6 continents. For more information, please visit www.wipro.com About FT Remark: FT Remark produces bespoke research reports, surveying the thoughts and opinions of key audience segments and then using these to form the basis of multi-platform thought leadership campaigns. FT Remark research is carried out by Remark, part of the Mergermarket Group, and is distributed to the Financial Times audience via FT.com and FT Live events. About Mergermarket: Mergermarket, part of The Mergermarket Group, is an unparalleled, independent M&A intelligence tool used by the world's foremost financial institutions to originate deals. It provides proprietary intelligence on potential deal flow, potential mandates and valuations via the world's largest group of M&A journalists and analysts who have direct access to the most senior decision-makers and corporates. The Mergermarket Group has over 450 employees worldwide and regional head offices in New York, London and Hong Kong. Visit us at www.mergermarket.com. . 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