May 2021
Survey of Corporate Attitudes towards Business Continuity Plan
The BCP formulation rate stood at 17.6%, the highest ever, but still at a low level
— Specifically, the challenge is initiatives by SMEs. The gap between them and large enterprises did not narrow —
Introduction
The year 2021 is a milestone year as it marks 10 years since the Great East Japan Earthquake. Even during this time, natural disasters, such as typhoons and earthquakes, have happened one after the other in various places, and risks that impact corporate activities, such as the spread of COVID-19 infections, and increasing cyber-attacks, have piled up. Assumption of such risks beforehand and advance preparations for response measures after they occur are essential elements, not only for business continuity but also from the perspective of maintaining and improving corporate value.
Teikoku Databank has conducted a survey on corporate attitudes towards Business Continuity Plan (BCP). This survey was conducted in conjunction with the May 2021 TDB Trends Research.
*Survey period: May 18 – May 31, 2021, Companies Surveyed: 23,724, Valid Responses: 11,242 (Response Rate: 47.4%) .
*The survey for Business Continuity Plan (BCP) has been conducted every year since June 2016, and this is the 6th such survey.
*Details of this survey can be found on the dedicated Economic Trend Survey website (http://www.tdb-di.com).
Primary points of survey results(summary)
- 1 Companies that 'have formulated' a Business Continuity Plan (BCP) stood at 17.6% (y-o-y increase of 1.0 point). The BCP formulation rate has increased gradually year by year, and is at its highest ever, but it is still low. By company size, the rate is on the rise in each size, with large enterprises at 32.0%, and SMEs at 14.7%.
- 2 With respect to the risks through which business continuity is assumed to be difficult, ‘natural disasters’ ranked top (at 72.4%) for those companies that ‘intend to formulate’ such a plan, with this being the highest percentage in five consecutive years (multiple answers, same below), followed by ‘Infectious diseases’ such as COVID-19 (60.4%), and ‘Equipment failure’ (35.8%). Amid the increasing number of cyber-attacks in recent years, ‘Information security risks’ (32.9%) also ranked high.
- 3 With respect to the effect of formulating a BCP, ‘Employees’ risk awareness has improved’ ranked top, at 55.5% (multiple answers, same below) among companies that have formulated a BCP. Many advantages were heard from companies, such as a case in which ‘formulating a BCP is a factor for additional points in bidding evaluation’, and ‘a company becoming eligible for tax incentives by certification of the plan to strengthen business continuity capabilities.
- 4 Reasons for not formulating a BCP included, ‘Do not have the skills and know-how necessary to formulate’ (multiple answers, same below), at the prominently conspicuous and highest percentage (41.9%). Securing human resources, time, and costs to formulate such a plan are ongoing challenges. Among SMEs, the percentages noting ‘they do not feel the need’, and ‘the effect cannot be anticipated even if a BCP is formulated only in their company’ are high, and we can see that they are skeptical about BCPs.