Being offline for just five hours could put a company's future at risk, according to a business ISP.

Research conducted by Star Technologies found that many customers now see the internet as their main business communication vehicle and perceive a site that has gone down in the same way they would a company that has ceased trading.

The study also found that although 75% of small companies claim to have a business continuity plan, just 40% have any physical safeguards in place.

"While events like the 2007 floods have highlighted many organisations' exposure to outages, it is vital that small and medium-sized business leaders stop thinking about business continuity plans in these terms and focus on safeguarding business-as-usual," said Ben White, chief executive of Star.

"Internet-driven technologies such as hosted exchange, hosted applications, remote network access using MPLS (multiprotocol label switching) and virtual firewalls are all available today and should be the foundation for businesses serious about business continuity."