Tech expert chides S.Korea for poor IT backup, crisis response

"Though (South) Korean companies are aware of the possibility of Seoul being bombed, they hardly take action against it. It`s a pity that they promote awareness only when a severe accident occurs."

Scott Ramsey, an expert for business risk and resilience at IBM, had this to say about the level of risk management at South Korean companies in an interview with The Dong-A Ilbo Monday. Amid heightening tension between both Koreas, he came to Seoul to attend a seminar on business sustainability jointly hosted by Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance and IBM Korea. He has worked in the risk management sector for 35 years, devising preventive measures and resolving weaknesses for companies that face unprecedented crises including war and natural disasters.

According to Ramsey, South Korean companies` risk management is abnormally tailored to business maintenance. "Assuming that a bomb falls on Seoul, what is more important (than maintaining business) is the survival of employees and their family." This is because employees are the basis of a company and sustainability of business. He pointed out that Korean companies set up business maintenance plans for emergency situations but lack concern for worker protection.

He added that Korean companies are ineffective in coping with IT matters, merely focusing on data management to save costs, but data needs to be saved in multiple storages including overseas. With online terrorism increasing, he said, storing on separate storage devices should be a requisite.

On IT backup and risk response capabilities, Ramsey said, "Speaking of the Korean companies I`ve encountered so far, they deserve zero to three points out of five. There are many overseas companies that deserve a five, but I have found no Korean companies who can get that score."

He cited Israel as an example. Being constantly faced with national security threats, Israel has made risk management routine. According to him, most Israeli companies disperse facilities and sales capability overseas when they begin expanding business. When important data is backed up overseas, they can be restored soon even if domestic computation facilities break down due to bombing.

"If companies suspend business even temporarily when disaster occurs, they will fall in the competition since speed is what matters in today`s business. Statistics shows that companies negligent in risk management shut down within two years when disaster occurs," Ramsay said.

sanhkim@donga.com