Harris Poll of Fortune 1000 C-Level Executives Gauges Post 9/11 Progress in Business Continuity

Harris Poll of Fortune 1000 C-Level Executives Gauges Post 9/11 Progress in Business Continuity; Most Only grade themselves a C+

WAYNE, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 5, 2003--A Harris Poll, "Disaster Preparedness and Information Availability in Post 9/11 Corporate America," released today concludes that while corporate America has made significant strides to protect information availability in the event of a disaster, several areas leave U.S. businesses at risk. The poll surveyed C-level executives of Fortune 1000 companies and was commissioned by SunGard Availability Services, an operating group of SunGard (NYSE: SDS).

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"We have anecdotally known for some time that awareness surrounding the issue of information availability is migrating up the corporate chain of command to the C-level," said Jim Simmons, group chief executive officer of SunGard Availability Services. "The Harris Poll confirms this but it also presents some alarming facts that indicate U.S. business still hasn't embraced all of the lessons from 9/11."

Mr. Simmons is particularly concerned that, on average, executives believe it would take their companies between nine and 12 hours to restore critical information systems such as e-mail, financial management systems, supply chain and ERP systems. "This length of interruption could be fatal for some companies that rely heavily on technology to run their businesses," he said.

Some of the Harris Poll's key findings include:

-- Seven in 10 executives surveyed say that policies and

procedures affecting information availability are discussed at

their executive level meetings.

-- 67% of the executives say their company is more prepared to

access business-critical information in a disaster compared to

pre 9/11.

-- While most (86%) executives believe their company is at least

somewhat prepared to maintain information availability in the

event of a disaster, only 15% say they are completely

prepared.

-- On average, executives give their company a grade of "C+" when

it comes to its ability to access business-critical

information quickly after a disaster.

-- 58% of the executives report that their company currently has

disaster preparedness training for employees who deal with

information access.

-- 40% believe that fewer than 10% of their employees are aware

of the information availability protocol to follow in a

disaster.

-- On average, those companies planning to increase their budget

to combat the risk of loss of information availability expect

to increase spending by 25% in 2004.

-- 58% agree that company networks are the most vulnerable part

of their information systems in the event of a possible

disaster or attack.

Note: For a complete copy of "Disaster Preparedness and Information Availability in Post 9/11 Corporate America," please e-mail Mike Walsh at mike.walsh@sungard.com

For more information about SunGard Availability Services, go to www.availability.sungard.com, or call 1-800-523-4970.

About SunGard Availability Services

SunGard Availability Services is the pioneer and leading provider of information-availability services, helping to ensure that more than 10,000 clients in North America and Europe have uninterrupted access to their business-critical information systems. With over 3 million square feet of hardened facilities, SunGard offers a complete range of information availability services for more than 30 technology platforms, from 48-hour disaster recovery hotsites to always-on, high-availability infrastructure, co-location and electronic vaulting services. SunGard also provides technology and systems management services for application and data center outsourcing, as well as business continuity consulting services and planning software. For more information about SunGard Availability Services, visit www.availability.sungard.com, or call 1-800-523-4970.

About SunGard

SunGard is a global leader in integrated IT solutions for financial services. SunGard is also the pioneer and leading provider of information availability services. SunGard serves more than 20,000 clients in over 50 countries, including 47 of the world's 50 largest financial services companies. SunGard (NYSE:SDS) is a member of the S&P 500 and has annual revenues of more than $2 billion. Visit SunGard at www.sungard.com.

Trademark Information: SunGard and the SunGard logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of SunGard Data Systems Inc. or its subsidiaries in the U.S. and other countries. All other trade names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

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