Data loss and downtime has cost Australian organisations around $65.5 billion (US$55 billion) in the last 12 months, according to a new survey. Almost two-thirds (64 per cent) of the 125 Australian companies surveyed as part of the EMC Global Data Protection Index – researched by Vanson Bourne – experienced data loss or downtime over the period. The average organisation experienced more than three working days (27 hours) of unexpected downtime. Other commercial consequences of disruptions were loss of employee productivity (54 per cent), and loss of revenue (44 per cent), the survey found. The majority (78 per cent) of Australian organisations are still not fully confident in their ability to recover after a disruption, and companies with three or more vendors lost 10 times as much data as those with a single vendor strategy, the research said. Simon Eid, general manager, data protection and availability division, at EMC Australia and New Zealand, said it was worrying that the majority of local organisations are lagging behind in deploying modern data protection methods. “As Australian organisations increasingly embrace mobile, cloud, and big data projects for 2015, the pressures on data protection will only increase. In fact, 60 per cent of Australian businesses feel challenged when it comes to protecting emerging technologies,” he said. The survey found that 58 per cent of Australian organisations still lack a disaster recovery plan for emerging workloads, and only 7 per cent have plans for big data, hybrid cloud and mobile. China, Hong Kong, The Netherlands, Singapore and the United States lead protection maturity, while Switzerland, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates lag behind. Australia ranked 11th out of 24 countries surveyed. Follow CIO Australia on Twitter and Like us on Facebook… Twitter: @CIO_Australia, Facebook: CIO Australia, or take part in the CIO conversation on LinkedIn: CIO Australia Follow Byron Connolly on Twitter:@ByronConnolly Related content BrandPost Are tech layoffs inevitable, or can your company avoid them? Despite tech industry layoffs, one ITSM company remains committed to growth and expansion of internal teams. The company’s successful endeavor is largely credited to one difference between TOPdesk and other tech organizations. By TOPdesk Mar 30, 2023 6 mins IT Leadership Analysis CIOs must evolve to stave off existential threat to their role With LOB leaders learning tech faster than CIOs gain business-savvy, IT leaders must strengthen advisory skills, build relationships, and embrace strategic transformation before losing out to business counterparts. By Yashvendra Singh Mar 30, 2023 10 mins Roles Opinion 5 ways AI will transform CRM Recent announcements by Microsoft and Salesforce on how they’re ramping up integration of AI tools into their software offerings mark the start of a revolution in the CRM marketplace. By Martin De Saulles Mar 30, 2023 4 mins Channel Sales CRM Systems Artificial Intelligence Interview From CIO to CX SVP, Cisco’s Jacqueline Guichelaar takes a road less travelled By David Binning Mar 29, 2023 7 mins Careers IT Leadership Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe