The research, which was commissioned with business leaders at 203 UK companies, including 21 telecommunications companies, reveals that two thirds (65%) of firms have lost revenue as a result of a technology or systems failure in the past year. Of these, the majority (44%) said that a key project was delayed or halted as a result and one in four (27%) reported that a customer was lost as a result.
Stephen Ollerenshaw, director at Technology Law Alliance, a specialist law firm advising companies on IT contracts, outsourcing and e-commerce, said:
“Technology or systems failures can cause considerable business disruption and damage corporate reputation too. Businesses should take a preventative approach by ensuring they have adequate protection in IT contracts. The process of agreeing a robust contract often drives out the issues and risks in advance and allows a customer to consider how it would mitigate problems should they arise.
“In particular, these contracts should include proper testing and acceptance provisions, appropriate governance processes, and measures to help a customer if things go wrong. These measures might include robust disaster recover provisions; the ability to step in to a failing contract; and adequate service handover in the event of termination.”
For the majority of telecommunications companies, the research revealed that the top IT-related risks for the year ahead are cyberattack (71%), such as hacking or data theft, and unexpected systems failure, causing downtime (62%).
“Cyberattack is perceived as a growing threat for many sectors and the high-profile attack on Sony in 2014 has emphasised the damage it can cause operationally and in terms of corporate reputation. Businesses entering into a contract with suppliers of any kind of systems support must prioritise security,” commented Stephen Ollerenshaw.
Just under half of telecommunications companies (48%) believe that transferring data to the cloud if the biggest IT-related opportunity for the sector in the year ahead.