Cincinnati, U.S.A. — From floods to fires, thunderstorms to tornadoes, Ohio is well-accustomed to the unexpected natural and man-made disasters that can wreak havoc on day-to-day life. Recognizing the importance of crisis preparation in this region, AT&T is conducting a Network Disaster Recovery (NDR) exercise in Ohio from July 31 to August 1, 2012.

These exercises are conducted several times a year to simulate the recovery of a network office that failed due to a natural or man-made disaster. They are designed to test, refine and strengthen AT&T’s business continuity and disaster recovery services in order to minimize network downtime when unforeseen disasters strike.

While this exercise typically targets large businesses and organizations, AT&T also recently launched an initiative aimed at highlighting the importance of disaster preparedness for small businesses. The initiative,“Safeguard Your Business,” provides small businesses with a single convenient destination for emergency and disaster preparation and planning, and offers a 10-question emergency readiness quiz.

According to the Ad Council, nearly two-thirds of U.S. small businesses do not have an emergency or disaster preparedness plan in place, despite the fact that about one in four small businesses will experience a “significant” crisis in any given year (Association of Small Business Development Centers).

Meanwhile, the results of a 2012 study from AT&T indicate that business continuity planning is seen as a priority by most (82%) of local IT executives in Ohio. Almost all (87%) of these executive indicate that their companies have a business continuity plan, almost half (47%) of Ohio executives include Facebook in their business continuity plans, and six out of ten (61%) are using or considering using cloud services to augment their business continuity recovery strategy.

“Ohio businesses and organizations recognize the critical importance of ongoing investment in crisis preparation, and we’re hopeful that they will continue in this direction,” said Tom Pelto, AT&T Ohio state president. “AT&T is thrilled to conduct its first NDR exercise in Ohio to help ensure we’re all as prepared as possible in the event of disaster in our area and beyond.”

For more information on the 2012 AT&T Business Continuity Study, including complete research results visit: http://www.att.com/gen/press-room?pid=22863

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