FT.LAUDERDALE, FLA -- After Hurricane Andrew ravaged South Florida, businesses in the area became significantly more prepared for disasters than the rest of the country.  Two and a half years in the aftermath of 9/11, companies in South Florida pushed again to implement major new business continuity plans.  However, according to a new report released today by AT&T and the Partnership for Public Warning, nearly half of these companies said they have not tested the plan in more than a year and cited no plans to do so before the onslaught of  hurricane season.

The report, "Disaster Planning in the Private Sector: A Post 9/11 Look at the State of Business Continuity in the US," surveyed 100 chief executive officers in the South Florida area.

"The best piece of advice that we can give South Florida companies is plan your test and test your plan," said Randy Fairbank, vice president, AT&T Business for South Florida. "Simply putting plans together in anticipation of a disaster is not enough.  None will be effective if they remain on the shelf and are not practiced and kept up to date."

In 2002, a similar AT&T survey found 91 percent of Florida companies had business continuity plans on the books, which was at least ten percent higher than the rest of the nation.

The majority of companies from this survey said business continuity has always been a priority at their company, while less than 20 percent said it had become a priority in recent years because of security and terrorist threats. Less than five percent reported that business continuity was not important at their company at all.

"These numbers are very encouraging," said Ken Allen, from Partnership for Public Warning, "Florida businesses are continuing to realize the importance of business continuity planning, especially with hurricane season."

For those companies that found business continuity not important, over half thought the probability of a major disaster at their company was highly unlikely.

"Every business in South Florida is vulnerable," said Allen. "And companies cannot afford to be off guard."

Surprisingly, companies which have suffered a disaster in the past are not even more likely to have updated their plans in the past year (67 percent) as those at organizations that have not suffered a disaster (71 percent).

"Twelve years after Hurricane Andrew and two and a half years after 9/11, too many companies are lapsing back into complacency and are failing to test the business plans that protect their business and secure their critical applications and data," said Fairbank. "Business continuity plans must address technology back-up systems and, if needed, involve an outsourced provider."

Nearly 70 percent have established redundant servers and/or backup sites. Nearly 10 percent will implement them in the next six months. Furthermore, more than 75 percent said they have implemented Internet security measures such as firewalls, intrusion detection, hacker protection and/or password authentication.  Ten percent said they will implement them in the next six months.

Even more encouraging is that in the 2002 survey, only 16 percent utilized a service provider while 12 percent planned to implement one in the future. But two years later, a full one third are using a service provider and nearly 10 percent will begin using one in the next six months.

Despite hurricane season, only half of the respondents monitor network or cable TV for public alert systems, while less than half use the NOAA weather radio and less than a third use the Emergency Alert System. Most disconcerting, less than 15 percent indicated they implement specific protective actions when the federal government raises the terrorist alert level.

AT&T is just one leading company that is helping others over the past few years to improve their business continuity and disaster recovery capabilities, according to Fairbank.

Businesses that identify critical processes, manage risk and prepare for disruptions are most likely to weather any interruption and survive all potential disasters. More than 20 percent responded they have suffered from a disaster; one organization even suffered more than a million dollars a day.

Nearly all companies which suffered from a disaster took actions as a result of it to reduce business interruptions in the future. More than a third obtained a back-up server and/or more than twenty percent moved a server off-site. Additionally, more than 10 percent  worked on obtaining additional power sources; more than ten percent also upgraded their communications systems.

"Unfortunately, almost 10 percent, however, neglected to take any action as a result of that event to reduce future business interruptions," said Allen. "Additionally, while many companies adopted plans after 9/11, nearly half have failed to test them in over a year. A plan is only as good as its successful tests."

AT&T has invested more than $300 million in its Network Disaster Recovery program over the past decade.  In fact, last month the company tested its own response to a six-day simulated disaster that "destroyed" a South Florida data-routing and voice switching center.