{"id":106055,"date":"2026-06-11T14:01:07","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T10:01:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/techxmedia.com\/en\/?p=106055"},"modified":"2026-06-11T14:01:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T10:01:08","slug":"uae-firms-face-major-business-continuity-gaps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/techxmedia.com\/en\/uae-firms-face-major-business-continuity-gaps\/","title":{"rendered":"UAE Firms Face Major Business Continuity Gaps"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A majority of UAE organisations have lost more than US$500K due to poor business continuity management. A new study from Optro<\/a>, formerly AuditBoard, highlights growing weaknesses in business continuity across the UAE. It shows that despite high confidence levels, many organisations are not able to recover effectively during disruption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report finds that only 19% of UAE organisations have a formal disaster recovery plan in place. This is the lowest level recorded globally and well below the global average of 31%. In addition, just 38% have defined recovery time objectives and recovery point objectives for all critical business processes. Meanwhile, only 22% have fully mapped key processes to supporting technology systems, third parties, and supply chain dependencies. This raises serious concerns about business continuity readiness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, confidence remains high across organisations. Nearly 73% of respondents said they are confident in meeting recovery objectives during major disruptions. In addition, 79% believe they can demonstrate operational resilience compliance to regulators. Despite this, real-world performance shows a different picture for business continuity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, among organisations that faced major disruption in the past year, 62% failed to recover within established recovery time objectives. Furthermore, 34% exceeded their targets by more than twice the planned timeframe. At the same time, 42% were unable to activate business continuity management plans within the first 24 hours of an incident. Only 15% managed activation within four hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Financial impact remains significant. Over the past 24 months, 59% of UAE organisations reported losses of more than US$500,000. These losses were linked to vendor outages, supply chain disruptions, IT and cloud failures, and weather events. Therefore, gaps in business continuity are directly affecting financial stability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe findings reveal a dangerous resilience gap. Many organisations have confidence in their preparedness, but confidence alone does not reduce downtime or protect revenue,\u201d said Richard Chambers, Senior Advisor, Risk and Audit at Optro<\/a> and former CEO of The Institute of Internal Auditors. He added that operational resilience is only proven during disruption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Third-party risk is also a major issue. According to the study, 82% of respondents experienced disruption due to third-party outages in the past two years. Among them, 67% reported losses exceeding US$1 million. However, only 31% of UAE organisations have full visibility into vendor business continuity plans, which is the lowest globally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, awareness of global frameworks remains high. Around 92% are familiar with G-SIB requirements, 85% with SR 14-1, and 78% with DORA. Even so, this awareness has not translated into stronger business continuity execution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the positive side, 47% of organisations increased business continuity budgets in the past year. In addition, 51% expect further increases over the next two years. However, Optro notes that investment must be paired with independent validation. Nearly 25% of UAE organisations have never subjected their business continuity programmes to external audit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to organisations with stronger outcomes, key success factors include regular testing of plans, better third-party risk management, and clear crisis decision-making structures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRecent disruptions across the region show that risks can emerge without warning,\u201d Chambers said. He added that business continuity must be continuously tested and validated, not assumed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overall, the findings highlight a widening gap between confidence and capability in business continuity across UAE organisations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A majority of UAE organisations have lost more than US$500K […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":106056,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9716,9661],"tags":[10545],"contributor":[9732],"class_list":["post-106055","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-global-brands","category-tech-value-chain","tag-business-continuity-management","contributor-news-desk"],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/techxmedia.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Business-Continuity.jpg.jpeg","author_info":{"display_name":"Rabab","author_link":"https:\/\/techxmedia.com\/en\/author\/rabab\/"},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t