A plan that ensures the continuity of head office functions
Business Solution
- Workplace Recovery
- Consultancy Services
Ipswich Building Society had business continuity plans in place for individual departments and the Society as a whole but these became out of date when it outsourced its IT infrastructure. It contracted Sungard AS’s Consulting Services to benefit from its decades of experience and specialist expertise. Drawing on industry recommended good practice, Sungard AS’s consultants helped the Building Society’s project team produce a workable plan that would ensure the continuity of head office functions. They also helped gain buy-in from the Society’s Board of Directors. When an external firm subsequently audited the plan, it was rated grade 1, the highest possible score.
The Society already had access to limited alternative workplace accommodation by taking advantage of spare capacity at its three Ipswich branches. But, recognising this alone would not be adequate to safeguard its daily operations, the Society took the precaution of reserving 35 seats at one of Sungard AS’s fully equipped workplace recovery centres.
Not only does Ipswich Building Society now have the reassurance of knowing they have an alternative workplace that gives them cutting edge technology, advanced telephony and secure access to their data, they have the added peace of mind that comes from Sungard AS’s ‘rollback’ capability. This enables customers to be recovered to an alternative Sungard AS facility should their primary choice of centre be unavailable due to widespread or multiple disasters.
Places at the recovery centre will be allocated to departments according to the criticality of their business function, which can vary according to the time of day, day of the week and time of year. Ronnie Weston explains, “Our Mortgage Department may have accounts that must complete by the end of the business day to avoid financial penalties. Similarly, as year end approaches, the Finance team may be regarded as top priority.”
On Sungard AS’s advice, all the Building Society’s employees have been issued with credit-card sized booklets containing emergency contact numbers, instructions on what to do in the event of a business interruption and directions to the Sungard AS recovery site. Four different versions were produced, tailored according to category – Incident Management Team member, key holder, team leaders and all other staff.
The Society has also set up a dedicated 0845 information line to keep staff updated on developments and work instructions in the aftermath of an interruption. In addition, BC planning has been incorporated within the induction process for new starters to build awareness from day one.
Should disaster strike, a nominated communications expert will work from one of the branches, directed by the Society’s Chief Executive, to keep employees, intermediaries and the press informed.
