Small companies working on a low profit margin can be put out of business by a computer incident (although how many do fail is in dispute). Large, financially sound businesses can weather a modest incident that interrupts their use of computers for a while, although it is painful to them. But even rich companies do not want to spend money unnecessarily. The analysis is sometimes as simple as no computers means no customers means no sales means no profit.
Government agencies, educational institutions, and nonprofit organizations also have limited budgets, which they want to use to further their needs. They may not have a direct profit motive, but being able to meet the needs of their customers—the public, students, and constituents—partially determines how well they will fare in the future. All kinds of organizations must plan for ways to cope with emergency situations.