Top 10 Business Continuity Issues

for 2012

Q1 2012

1. Top 10 Business Con nuity Issues for 2012

4. Innova on Group sponsors AllSouth African Team at 2012Dakar

5. Opportuni es and Challenges associated with Cloud Compu ng and the MobileWorkforce

6. Con nuity as a Service (CaaS)

7. Con nuitySA provides RecordNumber of Speakers for Global Business Con nuityAwareness Week

8. CSA Open Days

9. The BCI Breaks Through Borders

10. BC24 Online Incident Simula on Game

11. Gautrain to play part inAVBOB’s Disaster RecoveryPlans

12. Con nuitySA launches IT Service Con nuity TrainingCourse

13 iCon nuity 5 day Training offer

14. Triple4 expands service offering with launch of managed backup service

15. CSA Midrand upgrade

16. GlobilityNote from the Editor

Keeping ContinuitySAclients informed

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Doomsday scenarios aside, just what are the risksthat companies and their boards should be fac­toring into their planning for 2012.

“In 2011, we felt a certain cau ous op mismbased on the fact that the recession seemed tobe nearing its end,” says Michael Davies, man­aging director of Con nuitySA, Africa’s leadingprovider of business con nuity and disaster re­covery. “However, that now appears to havebeen op mis c. The global economy is not re­covering as quickly as hoped and our currencycon nues to be vola le—in fact, on balance,we think that the risks of social and poli calturmoil have actually increased. The dangeris that hard­pressed companies may betempted to cut spending on business con ­nuity. However, given the risks and the newCompanies Act, that’s exactly what theyshould not do.

“The good news is that the rapid matura onof business con nuity hos ng is making amuch more sophis cated offering available.

Michael Davies, Managing Director, Con nuitySA

Business Update

On 12 December 2012, the current cycle will come to anend – according to the Mayan long count way of reckoning

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All Links now Interac ve

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2

By tapping into the infrastructure­as­a­service model, companies can nowbegin to turn business con nuity ca­pacity from a dormant asset to onethat generates value for the IT environ­ment.”

Davies and his team at Con nuitySAhave iden fied what they believe arethe top­10 issues facing business in2012 that are likely to impact on busi­ness con nuity strategies.

1. Socio­economic chal­lenges ratchet up a notch

Last year, it seemed as though wemight be coming out the recession, butnow the talk is all about the dreadeddouble dip. Economic hardship is exac­erba ng social and poli cal tensions,especially as retrenchments swell thehordes of unemployed. Too many peo­ple without work or the prospect of itplaces a huge burden on the state, pro­vides the climate for crime and is likelyto fuel tension between the haves andthe have­nots.

2. Government perform­ance and service deliv­ery s ll lag behindexpecta on

Ongoing service delivery and corrup­on issues have con nued to fuel

widespread social unrest. Some com­mentators are even talking about pop­ular uprisings comparable to those thatoccurred earlier in the year in NorthAfrica.

Instability in the ruling party con nuesto unse le poli cal and social life, andthis will only get worse as the ANC’sleadership conference approaches.Meanwhile – no doubt fuelled in partby the economic problems men onedabove – strikes and social protestsseem to be ge ng more prevalent.

For business, one direct consequenceis frequent work stoppages, with staffactually finding it hard to get to theirplaces of work.

“It seems that South Africa is coming toa crossroads again, faced with thechoice between the high and lowroads,” says Davies. “We have to haveconfidence that our leadership willmake the right choices but, meanwhile,prudence demands a renewed focus onsafety measures, including proper busi­ness con nuity plans.”

3. Na onal infrastructureremains weak – and themiddle class is feelingthe pinch

While Eskom contrived to comethrough a very cold winter with rela­

vely few blackouts, concern remainshigh as summer is the me for plannedmaintenance. Another concern is theavailability of skills to maintain theaging infrastructure at Koeberg, and tooperate planned new nuclear power fa­cili es. On the posi ve side, recentmoves to introduce independentpower genera on and green powerinto the South African energy marketare welcome.

That said, there are worrying reportsthat lack of addi onal energy capacityat present is affec ng the ability ofsome data centres to expand.

Other infrastructural challenges includethe new toll roads around Gauteng andthe new na onal health insurance sys­tem. While both are desirable, they areplacing addi onal financial burdens onthe middle class—i.e. the small taxbase on which everything rests. Is themiddle class coming close to feeling assqueezed as the poor and unemployedand, if so, how will it make its distressknown?

4. Water remains a concernWater security remains a problem inthis country, exacerbated by the pollu­

on of our exis ng water stocks.

Although the government finally wokeup to the problem of acid minedrainage and made R400 million avail­able, media reports indicate that li leac on has actually occurred. If substan­

al progress is not made in finding a so­lu on, the acid water is expected tobegin decan ng into the Johannesburgbasin in March 2012—it is already de­can ng on the West Rand. Companieswith IT equipment in basements needto remain on high alert.

Other infrastructural challenges includethe new toll roads around Gauteng andthe new na onal health insurance sys­tem. While both are desirable, they areplacing addi onal financial burdens onthe middle class – i.e. the small taxbase on which everything rests.

3

Is the middle class coming close to feel­ing as squeezed as the poor and unem­ployed and, if so, how will it make itsdistress known?

4. Water remains a concernWater security remains a problem inthis country, exacerbated by the pollu­

on of our exis ng water stocks. Al­though the government finally woke upto the problem of acid mine drainageand made R400 million available,media reports indicate that li le ac onhas actually occurred. If substan alprogress is not made in finding a solu­

on, the acid water is expected tobegin decan ng into the Johannesburgbasin in March 2012—it is already de­can ng on the West Rand. Companieswith IT equipment in basements needto remain on high alert.

5. Worsening business climate

The risks men oned elsewhere willcon nue to weigh on risk­averse for­eign investors, while the vola lity ofthe rand will encourage destabilisingcapital movements. The socio­poli calchallenges we have men oned are alsotaking their toll on the outlook of localbusiness. With the business confidenceindex declining, investment in equip­ment and people will be curtailed at a

me when they are more necessarythan ever. Militant unions and de­mands for increases that are signifi­cantly above infla on are furtherworsening the business outlook. Withrevenues under pressure, many com­panies will be tempted to skimp onbusiness con nuity but this approach isshort­sighted.

6. Regulatory burdens andresponsibili es increase

Promulgated during 2011, the newCompanies Act has made the directorsof companies personally

liable for the outcome of their deci­sions. The legisla on is new anduntested, making compliance evenmore risky than it might otherwisehave been.

In combina on with the recommenda­ons of the King Commission, the new

act has made risk management a muchmore important item on the boardagenda—and this includes IT risk.

Boards are increasingly accountable toall stakeholders rather than just share­holders. In this regard, environmentalissues are becoming more prominent,which may add impetus to the move to­wards cloud compu ng, which has theeffect of greening the IT department.

7. The s ng in the supplychain tail

Recent natural disasters like the volcanic erup on in Iceland and theearthquake and tsunami in Japan haveemphasised the flipside of global inter­connectedness. In order to ensure busi­ness con nuity, companies mustincreasingly consider their en re sup­ply chains. Adequate consul ng aroundthe business con nuity threats origi­na ng outside of the organiza on isimpera ve.

8. Cloud compu ng blursvision

As predicted, 2011 saw considerablemovement in cloud compu ng. Whileit’s clear that cloud compu ng has realbenefits, non­specialist public cloud of­ferings should not be confused withspecialist business con nuity, which isalso making use of cloud­based approaches.

“The need to have absolute quality as­surance and security in terms of yourbusiness con nuity remains, especiallyin light of boards’ enhanced accounta­bility,” Davies notes. “On the otherhand, the greater availability of band­width and improvements in technologyare changing the model.”

9. Mobility is crea ng hugenew data risks

The growing range of smart mobile de­vices, and the explosion in useful appli­ca ons, has made mobility a fact of life.At the same me, there is growingawareness of the value of a company’sdata, hence the emergence of “data asa pla orm”. Securing and backing upthe corporate data on mobile devicesusually owned by employees ratherthan companies is raising CIOs’ temper­atures worldwide.

10. Business con nuity iss ll not integrated intocorporate strategy

Given the scale and magnitude of thechallenges business faces, the dangerremains that business con nuity ismarginalised and siloed. In many in­stances, financial pressures are causingcompanies to cut back on business con­

nuity. For example, banks which haveretrenched large numbers of peoplenow have excess office space whichthey tend to use to provide their ownworkplace recovery—and this may leadto a business con nuity solu on that isless than op mal. A related issue is thatthe long­term viability of smaller busi­ness con nuity providers is looking lesscertain in this climate. We think this willprompt a “flight to quality” in manycases.

As indicated above, the emergence ofnew opportuni es to remodel businesscon nuity using a private cloud ap­proach is a game­changer, offering costsavings, a much more effec ve productand the opportunity to get a return onyour business con nuity investment.

“The outlook is less op mis c than itwas 12 months ago, and the ANC’sleadership conference during 2012 willunfortunately distract government’s at­ten on from its real job. On the posi­

ve side, companies that understandthe risks can plan accordingly—andtroubled mes also create tremendousopportunity for those with their witsabout them,” concludes Davies.

Top 10 business

continuity issues

for 2012

4

Dubbed, one of the tough­est motorsport races inthe world, the Dakar cov­ered some 9 000km over14 days in three countries

namely Argen na, Chile and Peru.When the team started from thecoastal town of Mar Del Plata on 1 Jan­uary 2012, the group was cau ouslyop mis c about the results – a er all,this was team’s first entry in the Dakarand they were up against seasonedDakar veteran teams including Miniand Hummer. No one could have pre­dicted the remarkable outcome of the

team at the end of the race with 2009winner, Giniel de Villiers, and Germanco­driver, Dirk von Zitzewitz, achievinga third place podium and first meDakar compe tors Duncan Vos andRob Howie finishing 11th overall.

“Providing backing to the Imperial Toy­ota South Africa Team was a clear cutdecision” says Glen Mollink, CEO of In­nova on Group South Africa. “For In­nova on Group, being a part of thetoughest race in the world and sup­por ng an all South African team wasvery close to our heart. Our values of

reliability, innova on and the deliveryof sustainable solu ons are very appli­cable to a race such as the Dakar Rally.Par cipa ng in and comple ng theDakar Rally requires constant innova­

on and the team applied innova vestrategies throughout to not only com­plete this grueling race but finish withtruly amazing results.”

For more informa on on Innova onGroup, go to www.innova on­group.com/sa

INNOVATION GROUP SPONSORS

ALL SOUTH AFRICANTEAM AT 2012 DAKAR

Innova on Group, a global provider of business process outsourcing (BPO) and so ware solu ons to the insurance, fleet, automo ve and property industries, recently provided

sponsorship backing to the all South African Imperial Toyota SA team at the 2012 Dakar.

Giniel de Villiers and Dirk von Zitzewitz

5

Opportuni es• How do you ensure immediate scal­

ability during a disaster? – Cloudproviders offer improved flexibility toscale and change resources depend­ing on requirements at me of disas­ter, although o en dependant onreserving an cipated capacity to bemade available at me of disaster.

• What effect is evident on recoveryobjec ves? – Improved RTOs andRPOs are possible nega ng the needfor lengthy recovery from tape back­ups.

• What technologies contribute tobe er recoverability in the Cloud? –Virtualisa on in the cloud presentsimproved flexibility with less relianceon the underlying infrastructure.

• What is the impact on me to re­cover? – Rapid implementa on andrecovery of systems becomes possi­ble with scalable capacity availablefrom cloud providers.

• What is the effect on company resources? – Minimal capital expen­diture requirements; reduced re­quirement for in­house IT skills; ITpersonnel are be er u lised withbusiness ac vi es.

• What opera onal benefits are asso­ciated with Cloud Services? – Directbusiness benefits are evident withreduced down me due to the inher­ent resilience in cloud architecturedesign.

• What indirect benefits are associ­ated with Cloud Services? – Be eru lisa on of bandwidth can beachieved a er hours to support ini­

a ves such as online backup strate­gies.

• How can clients ensure they have aneffec ve BCM solu on in place? –Subscribe to Con nuitySA’s diverserange of resilient Server Replica on,Managed Backup and Virtual Hos ngsolu ons!

Challenges• What are the risks associated with

Cloud Services? – Security concernsremain the greatest inhibitor toadop on and must be assessed andchallenged with the cloud provider.

• What opera onal risks are associ­ated with Cloud Services? – Lesscontrol over infrastructure is appar­ent when u lising cloud providers.

• Can data be easily transferred to an­other provider? What if a cloudprovider collapses or goes out ofbusiness? – Companies require aclear and prac cal exit strategy whenusing cloud providers in order to en­sure business con nuance.

• What must occur to improve adop­on of with Cloud Services? – Im­

proved standards and regula ons arerequired with cloud compu ng toaddress security and interoperability

• Can failover be easily tested to en­sure the process works? – Compa­nies must ensure that cloud vendorshave tested and demonstrable busi­ness con nuity strategies.

• What could prevent a companyfrom adop ng Cloud? – Regula onsmay prohibit companies backing upand storing data on shared infra­structure or outside of country bor­ders.

Opportuni es• What BCM specific benefits are as­

sociated with a mobile workforce?– Deploying mobile workers presentsa great BCM strategy by default asusers become accustomed to work­ing from various loca ons.

• What benefits are associated with amobile workforce? – Mobile usersare be er equipped to deal withmundane interrup ons, e.g. unableto enter the primary workplace,protest ac on, severe traffic conges­

on etc.

• What effect has the deregula on ofthe telecoms industry had on re­mote access? – Access to mul plenetwork providers presents the abil­ity to implement resilient and load­balanced networks that can betested on an on­going basis.

• How is Bring Your Own Device(BYOD) affec ng mobile workers? –BYOD is gaining more acceptance bybusinesses as increased produc vityis evident with employees using bothpersonal and business devices, aswell as users becoming be erequipped to respond and operateduring a disaster owing to mul pleaccess and communica on methods.

Opportuni es and Challenges associated with ccloud compu ngand the mobile workforce

Wayne ReedGeneral Manager: Research

and Development

Cloud Compu ng

Mobile Workforce

6

• How should CTOs be approachingthe growing mobile workforce?– With the rapidly evolving con­sumeriza on of mobile IT devicesCTOs should aim to be dynamicthought leaders adop ng to the everchanging IT landscape as opposed tose ng fixed, rigid technology strate­gies.

• How can clients ensure they havean effec ve BCM solu on in placefor mobile users? – Subscribe toCon nuitySA’s range of resilient Net­work solu ons!

Challenges• What part does connec vity play

with a mobile workforce? – Reliableconnec vity is cri cal for mobileusers and should be planned to beresilient as it essen ally becomesthe lifeline for mobile users during adisaster.

• What is a major concern associatedwith remote users? – Security be­comes more important when deal­

ing with remote access. IT risk man­agement focus is shi ing from puretechnology to increased emphasison people, processes and technol­ogy in order to be effec ve.

• How do you prevent infected andunauthorised users compromisingthe company network? – Deploy aremote access service that providesa layered security approach, namelya Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) VPN asa method of securing ini al access,and a firewall and Intrusion Protec­

on System (IPS) to provide an addi­onal layer of security.

• What about the prolifera on ofmul ple end­point devices? – It isbecoming increasingly difficult toregulate remote access by so manydifferent devices (PCs, notebooks,iPads, smart phones, etc.) whichpresent a significant security risk toorganisa ons. Companies shouldfocus on securing the company net­work regardless of the end­point de­vices used.

• What risks are associated withBring Your Own Device (BYOD) de­vice? – Security and protec on ofcompany informa on remains achallenge and should be addressedby appropriate processes, policiesand technology.

• What considera ons are applicablefrom a BCM perspec ve? – A highlyscalable VPN infrastructure is re­quired to cope with increased re­mote access requests via alternateroutes during a disaster.

• What risks rela ng to cri cal com­pany informa on are associatedwith a growing mobile workforce?– Business cri cal data on mobile de­vices is growing and must be safe­guarded; technology can addressthis requirement.

Kindly RSVP with Cindy Bodenstein on cindy.bodenstein@con nuitysa.co.za

We look forward to having you join us.

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Con nuitySA provides record numberof speakers for global Business

Con nuity Awareness WeekBusiness Con nuity Awareness Week (BCAW) willtake place from March 19 – 23rd March 2012 onceagain facilitated by the Business Con nuity Ins ­tute (BCI). Con nuitySA, South Africa’s leadingBusiness Con nuity Management service providerwill provide a record number of speakers.

BCAW is a global educa onal event designed to helppeople understand more about business con nuitymanagement (BCM), its applica ons and benefits.

This year’s event will provide new opportuni es to engagewith experts around the world and learn more about BCM.

The BCI and its partners will be publishing new research andpapers throughout the week. Through a series of Webinarsinterested par es can engage with authors on these reports.The webinars can be viewed live and ques ons could beasked or watched online at one’s leisure.

This year Con nuitySA has been asked to present 6 webinarswhich demonstrates the quality of South Africa’s BCM skills.They will cover the following topics :

Con nuity as a Service (CaaS)Jus n Lord, General Manager, BCM Hos ng will speak onCon nuity as a Service (CAAS) on the 19th March at12.00pm. The past decade has seen significant changes inthe way Recovery Services are delivered. As companies lookto reduce recovery mes from days to hours, in some caseseven less, service providers are turning to Cloud Services todeliver faster, scalable recovery solu ons. In this presenta­

on he will look at the Managed Recovery Services that areavailable to date and technology that is changing the waythese solu ons are delivered.

The presenta on can be broadcast live and stored onh p://www.brigh alk.com/webcast/1476/42015

Infrastructure Impact Analysis (IIA)Millington Gumbo, General Manager, Advisory Services willtalk on Infrastructure Impact Analysis on the 19th March at2.00pm. The ICT Infrastructure Impact Analysis(IIA) is aground breaking methodology designed to facilitate the seg­menta on of key ICT infrastructure in various ers of cri ­cality and iden fy cost effec ve ways of providing IT ServiceCon nuity solu on for each er.

The segmenta on process traverses the en re spectrum ofIT infrastructure from front end to back­end components.The IIA process harnesses the combined exper se of theCIO, CRO and CFO in ensuring sound investments in hybridIT Service Con nuity and Disaster Recovery solu ons whichprotect profitability and maximise returns for shareholders.

To par cipate in this presenta on visith p://www.brigh alk.com/webcast/1476/42021

Contact Centre Con nuityJus n Hammann, Business Development Manager will talkon the topic of Con nuity Management for Contact Centreson March 20th at 12.00pm.

When it comes to contact centres, the importance of ensur­ing business con nuity is significantly magnified. Whetheragents are fielding incoming sales calls or customer serviceinquiries, it’s no secret that customers are very unforgivingwhen the service is unavailable. As for new prospects whocan’t reach you; chances are, they will take their businesselsewhere. When some contact centres are unavailable, theresult is mere inconvenience and annoyance for clients. Onthe other side of the scale, the effects could mean severe fi­nancial impact, tarnish to reputa on and even loss of lives(in the case of emergency response centres). Regardless ofwhere your contact centre fit on this scale, it is a strategicallyimportant func on that connects you to your customers, po­ten al customers and stakeholders. This discussion coversthe planning, tes ng and ul mately, the effec ve “orches­tra on” of the contact centre recovery process.

His presenta on can be located ath p://www.brigh alk.com/webcast/1476/42025

8

Email cindy.bodenstein@con nuitysa.co.za to confirm your a endance.

CM² Maturity ModelKaren Humphris, Senior Advisor,Advisory Services will pres­ent her webinar on March 20th at 2.00pm. A demonstrableability to survive and recover from major disrup ve eventshas become the single most important success aspect of anybusiness con nuity management (BCM) programme. TheCM2 framework has been designed to provide analy cal in­forma on which can be used in determining an organisa­

on’s ability to survive any opera onal disrup on resul ngfrom a single or a series of worst­case events.

Her presenta on can be viewed onh p://www.brigh alk.com/webcast/1476/42027

Adop ng Cloud in your Back Up StrategySasha Malic, Solu on Design will talk on March 23rd at2.00pm. He believes Cloud should be included in a backupstrategy to reduce business risk, protect data and to im­prove recovery mes in the event of an outage. Various newtechnologies exist to enable a cloud backup methodologywhich will be discussed.

His presenta on will be found ath p://www.brigh alk.com/webcast/1476/42069

Business Con nuity in the Supply ChainDerek Taylor, Business Development Manager will presenton March 23rd at 4.00pm. For many ordinary people ‘supplychains’ are a means to an end, they represent a mechanismthrough which goods and services are delivered on a dailybasis, all around the world. Today’s supply chains are mul ­level complex opera ons that not only rely on the flow ofproduce and goods, but also rely heavily on people, integrated informa on systems, infrastructure, transportand distribu on networks – an interrup on to any of these could result in the dis­con nuity of the business.

The link to his presenta on ish p://www.brigh alk.com/webcast/1476/42073

For ongoing news on the host of events running over thisweek visith p://www.con nuitysa.co.za/media/events2.htm.

Further informa on on the total programme for BCAWcan be found on www.bcaw2012.com.

Addi onal informa on about Con nuitySA can be found atwww.con nuitysa.com

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Through the ongoing supportof BCI members, member­ship organisa ons and inter­ested par es, the BCI isslowly breaking through

African borders. In 2005, the year inwhich the first South Africa BCI Forumwas launched, there was just a hand fullof members spread across Africa. Thelaunch was not only the first in South­ern Africa, but also in Africa. As at theend of January this year, Africa has ap­proximately four hundred and eighty­eight (488) BCI members, of which ahundred and thirty­three (133) are BCIstatutory members. The membershipsta s cs across Africa (statutory andnon­statutory) are represented in thegraph below:

From 2005 the South African Forummaintained momentum. Cons tu on­ally, a BCI Forum is a voluntary interestgroup with no regulatory mandate or fi­nancial responsibility, which followscertain terms of reference to align withthe BCI.

However, since early last year, a er theelec on of the BCI Commi ee SouthAfrica, we have seen a resurgence of in­terest and focus on Business Con nuity,spearheaded by the South African BCIForum Chairman, Dr Cliff Ferguson.

The objec ve of establishing the commi ee was to bring together all in­terested par es across the con nent,star ng with South Africa. The Terms ofReference created by the Commi eeconfirmed “The purpose and scope ofthe BCI COMMITTEE SOUTH AFRICA isas follows:

1. To support Southern African BCPrac oners and members, on behalf of BCI, with Business Con nu­ity knowledge and value added services;

2. To promote and increase the busi­ness con nuity awareness withinSADC; and

3. To increase the BCI footprint in SADC through the establishment ofa BC Network of like­minded prac ­

oners and members.”

To ensure that the key objec ves,aligned to the overall strategy werebeing addressed, several workgroupswere created and managed by mem­bers of the BCI Commi ee South Africa.The ac ve workgroups are iden fiedbelow:

1. BCI Chapter SADC: Establish andmaintain a SADC Chapter;

2. Communica ons: To create a communica on channel betweenthe BCI Commi ee South Africa andBCI members and prospec ve mem­bers;

3. Events: To promote any events thatmay be of interest to BCI membersand prospec ve members. Iden fyany future event requirements andassist with the associated organisa­

on as and were required;

4. Research: Provide BCI with feedbackand support on various ini a vesand requests rela ng to African per­spec ves gathered from memberpar cipa on; and

Louise Theunissen (MBCI)(PMP), BCI Board Member

The BCI Breaks Through Borders

10

5. Intergovernmental, Cross borderand Parastatal: Create awarenesswithin the inter­governmental sec­tor to improve opportuni es forgrowth.

Although each workgroup plays a keyrole, the Commi ee’s ini al focus is onthe establishment of a SADC Chapter inorder to secure its future ac vi es. Todate we are proud to state that the ini­

al proposal for the Establishment of aBCI Chapter in the SADC Region wassubmi ed to the BCI Board on the 27thof February 2012. A er careful review,the SADC Chapter Establishment Re­quest was approved.

The next step in finalising the SADCChapter will be to submit a businessplan to the BCI Board for final approval.

Further to the Chapter approval, addi­onal key achievements:

• The last quarterly forum held in Jan­uary 2012 hosted in excess of forty­five (45) par cipants;

• Next Quarterly Newsle er will bedistributed by the end of March2012;

• Discussions are currently underwaywith the BCI to host a BCI SADC Con­ference and Awards Ceremony thisyear; and

• Planning around the developmentand launch of a BCI SADC website iscurrently in progress.

The success of all ac vi es ini ated bythe BCI Commi ee South Africa andSADC BCI members is dependent onthe par cipa on of all members andmembership organisa ons. To thosemembers and membership organisa­

ons who have not been involved todate, The BCI Commi ee South Africais in need of your interest and support.

Should you have any enquiries as to how you can make a difference or would like to be included in regularlycommunica on, please contact Louise Theunissen (MBCI)(PMP), BCI Board Member

Mobile: +27 82 928 7158 or Mail to: louise.theunissen@con nuitysa.co.za

Upcoming BCI Forum Dates for 2012 28 March 2012 • 30 May 2012 • 25 July 2012 • 28 November 2012

...The BCI Breaks Through Borders

11

Avbob recently became a Con nuitySA client, andperformed its first annual disaster recovery testusing the Con nuitySA Midrand data centre in

early December 2011. With offices situated in thePretoria central business district, using the Gautrain to trans­

port key personnel to the centre seemed like a logical choice.

“In the past, we’ve always had to transport the key staff used for the testin vehicles to the disaster recovery site,” says Willie van der Berg, proj­ect leader: financial systems at Avbob. “To beat the traffic we typi­cally le early in the morning, and we had to limit the number ofpeople we could take.”

By contrast, a full team of key staff was able to par cipate in this test.Employees came to work at the normal me and used the Gautrain bus to

travel the short distance to the Pretoria sta on. Twenty minutes later they weremet by transport arranged by Con nuitySA and Avbob at the Midrand sta on,

and taken to the disaster recovery centre.

The staff was divided into two groups, each travelling on a different train, to en­hance security.

On arrival, the Avbob team was pleased to find desks ready and wai ng, and theAvbob environment running on their computers. By midday they had completedthe test and were making the reverse trip.

Van der Berg says the Gautrain experience was excellent. The staff enjoyed theease and speed of the journey, while the company valued the opportunity to move

the full disaster recovery team in rela ve safety.

“Pu ng all your key personnel in one vehicle for a road trip is quite a risk in itself,”comments Van der Berg. “It’s also a highly produc ve solu on because you don’thave valuable people ed up in traffic! We’ll definitely be factoring the Gautrain into

our disaster plans.”

Gautrain to play part in AVBOB’s disaster recovery plans

Julian Marais putsGautrain through its paces

As a Business Development Manager for Con ­nuitySA, Julian Marais spends much of hisday travelling to visit clients. He recentlyspent two weeks using the Gautrain to seewhether it could be a transport solu on forhim—and how cost­effec ve it would be.

Marais says that he was able to make all hisappointments using the Gautrain as the pri­mary means of transport. “But I did needto plan much more carefully and eachjourney took much longer because itwasn’t direct,” he observes.

On the plus side, he found the costs tobe slightly lower than car travel –while the produc ve me spentin buses and the train was alsoa posi ve. “It was great to beable to keep up with e­mailsand other admin while beingdriven,” he says.

His overall conclusion: Not idealfor somebody with his job, butsurprisingly effec ve. Oneneeds to use this mode oftransport for the rightpurpose.

Pictures: complim

ents ofw

ww

.gautrain.co.za

12

The two­day course is targeted at ITand Business Con nuity Management(BCM) professionals responsible forthe con nued up me of IT serviceswithin their organisa ons.

“Effec ve BCM focuses on ensuringcompanies have the ability to restoreand con nue cri cal business opera­

ons no ma er what happens,” saysMillington Gumbo, GM of Con nu­

itySA’s Advisory Services.

“In today’s technology­intensive business environment,

the ability to ensure IT services areavailable as and when required is non­nego able.

“Yet, despite their best inten ons, fewopera onal experts are able to imple­ment an effec ve BCM service withoutthe appropriate training and insightinto the world of Business Con nuityand Disaster Recovery. This is wherethe Complete Con nuity Academyplays a crucial role.”

Key elements of the IT Service Con nuity Course include:• The link between BCM and IT

Service Con nuity Management;

• The evolu on of IT Service Con nuity;

• The latest concepts and trends in ITService Con nuity;

• Conduc ng an Infrastructure Impact Analysis;

• Formula ng and implemen ng costeffec ve IT Service Con nuitystrategies to meet business requirements;

• Security management in IT ServiceCon nuity;

• Tes ng the IT Service Con nuityframework; and

• A Con nuity­as­a­Service casestudy.

A endees will not simply be bom­barded with theory, but will be taughtskills proven in the real world by ac veBCM prac oners with MBCI (Mem­ber of the Business Con nuity Ins ­

tute) cer fica ons. The course is basedon the Good Prac ce Guidelines of theBCI and complies with the Bri sh Stan­dard BS 25999 to ensure it is on parwith interna onal best prac ces.

“Effec ve Business Con nuity will onlybecome a reality in Africa once busi­ness leaders and managers have therequisite skills and understanding todrive the implementa on of workableBCM solu ons,” notes Gumbo. “The ITService Con nuity course is anotherstep in ensuring companies on the con­

nent are capable of implemen ng

BCM plans that meet the highest stan­dards, ensuring their companies areready for any emergency.”

The IT Service Con nuity course willbe held on the following days:

• 24th ­ 25th April 2012 (Cape Town)• 23rd ­ 24th May 2012

(Johannesburg)• 6th ­ 7th August 2012

(Johannesburg)• 27th ­ 28th September 2012

(Cape Town)• 3rd ­ 4th October 2012

(Johannesburg)

For more informa on contact training@con nuitysa.co.za or call +27 (0)11 554 8000.

Millington Gumbo Gumbo (MBCI)GM, Advisory Services

Africa’s largest Business Con nuity service provider, Con nuitySA, has enhanced its Complete Con nuity Training Academy to include a new course, IT Service Con nuity.

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“Managed backup takes advantage ofthe greater availability of reasonablypriced bandwidth to provide compa­nies with a hosted and, crucially, man­aged backup service,” says AntonCoetser, service director at Triple4.

“We believe this service meets a realneed in the market and complementsTriple4's so ware as a service and in­frastructure offerings, which all aim todeliver business benefits.”

Coetser points out that tradi onal tapebackups are extremely expensive be­cause they require not only tapes andtape drives, but also backup so wareand backup licences — changes in li­censing prac ces have meant that ap­plica on aware licences have to bepurchased at o en inflated prices toprovide full backup func onality. Costscan rise quickly for this op on, par c­ularly when one factors in possible off­site storage and the “hidden” HR costof the person to physically load andstore the tapes each day.

“Companies know that they need to dobackups, but o en they simply can't af­ford the costs. As a result, they skimpthe process, placing themselves at risk.This is o en a risk that the decision­makers aren't even aware of,” Coetsersays. “As far as the execu ve suite isconcerned, backups are being done.What they don't realise is that cornersare being cut — un l it's too late.”

Triple4's new service means the com­pany can install the necessary so wareand configure so ware agents on theclient's servers accordingly.

Local storage needs to be provided forthe backups, which are then replicatedvia a secure network connec on toTriple4's fully redundant and manageddata centre. In the event of a restorebeing needed, it is delivered back tothe client via the same route.

“Online backup is, of course, availablealready, but what sets our offeringapart is the managed component. Ourconsul ng division will first engagewith the client to understand its busi­ness and define its backup needs, andthen configure the so ware agents ac­cordingly. The backup solu on has toalign with the business' needs, and thetechnology it has in place,” Coetser ex­plains. “Therea er, the service is man­aged by us proac vely, so we monitorfor problems and make the necessaryupgrades for a set cost per server permonth.

“It always works out cheaper than thetradi onal tape storage solu on and ittransfers the responsibility for themanagement of the backup environ­ment to experts.

“Tradi onal backups via tapes workand it's a tried­and­tested solu on,but, par cularly for small to mediumcompanies with small IT departmentsand ght budgets, a managed backupservice is the answer in terms of relia­bility, ease of use and cost,” Coetserconcludes.

Triple4 expands service offering withlaunch of managed backup service

Infrastructure solu on company Triple4 has launched a managed backup offering thatcomplements its exis ng range of services. Managed Backup Service (MBS) offers compa­nies a cost­effec ve alterna ve to the tradi onal backup method that typically involvesbacking up to tape and, frequently, storing the tapes offsite.

Triple4

Triple4 provides clients with IT infra­structure solu ons that truly enabletheir business strategies. The com­pany offers consul ng services, out­sourcing services, managed servicesand hos ng. These services can becombined to suit the client's par cularneeds and level of IT maturity.Founded as IMMIX Network Solu onsin 2007, Triple4 was officiallylaunched in September 2011. Con ­nuitySA, Africa's premier provider ofbusiness con nuity solu ons, owns50% of Triple4, with the directorsowning the remaining 50%. Triple4serves clients in all industry sectorsand of all sizes, from micro enter­prises to corporate mul na onals.

For more informa on visit www.triple4.co.za

Anton CoetserServices Director, Triple4

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Con nuitySA as part of our upgrade process at our Midrand

Site, are proud to showcase our final product of our new

recep on and pause area.

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With Con nuitySA growing at such a fast pace with our latest site developments andnew service offerings it gives me such pleasure serving as editor for Client Chronicles

as there is such a great deal to report on. Having said that, the Con nuitySA team remains commi ed to bringing our readers more and more valuable ar cles that will alwayskeep you up to date with our latest products developments and services.

Should you have any Business Con nuity thought pieces or ar cles that you would like to submit and feel will serve our readers interest for the upcoming issues of Client Chronicles,we value your input and would like to hear from you.

Your thoughts and feedback are most welcome and can be sent to cindy.bodenstein@con nuitysa.co.za

We hope you enjoy reading your copy of Client Chronicles.

Cindy Bodenstein, Marke ng Manager (Editor)

Note from the Editor