Publications & Resources

April/May 2007
Focus: Risk Assessment & Disaster Planning

Preparing for the Worst: Disaster Recovery Testing is Key

By Dave Wegman

When disaster strikes the technology-dependent financial industry, lost hours can cost millions. An earthquake, flood, fire or other catastrophe can completely disable information processing systems, which is why every financial institution needs to have planned, proven procedures ready to quickly reestablish operations. In the wake of events like Hurricane Katrina, banks are more aware than ever of the need to have a disaster recovery plan in place. However, it’s one thing to put such preparations down on paper; it’s quite another to make sure they’ll work beyond theory.

That’s why Premier Data Corporation, a banking services and processing company in Salt Lake City , participated in a mock disaster and recovery operation. “This exercise proved to be an invaluable experience,” said Ed Cameron, President & CEO of Premier Data, which processes nearly 100,000 accounts for financial institutions in Utah and Idaho . “As a service bureau, we have an ongoing responsibility to help the banks we serve be as prepared as possible for a disaster.”

Premier Data’s software and services provider, Information Technology, Inc. (ITI), and SunGard Availability Services (SunGard), a provider of recovery services, regularly conduct training exercises with financial institutions to simulate recovery from a full-scale disaster. The goal is to demonstrate the ability to quickly and successfully recover both computer operations and transaction processing.

Their test with Premier Data called for a comprehensive recovery of the entire banking facility at an alternate location, with test planners basing their approach around an actual shutdown of the entire operations center. A Mobile Disaster Recovery Team was deployed, staffed by service bureau, ITI and SunGard personnel.

The SunGard Mobile Data Center was also included in the simulation. This state-of-the-art semi tractor-trailer houses proof, ITI image and document management file servers, a sorter, as well as other office and network equipment. It’s a showcase of actual banking contingency processes that would be called into action in the event offsite banking and processing are required.

In an actual disaster, Premier Data would send its secondary backup media, stored in a secure facility, to a permanent disaster “hot site” in one of more than 25 SunGard locations, where the data can be quickly reloaded to bring the financial institution back online until the Mobile Data Center arrives at the on-site location. For the test, the backup media was transported immediately to the mobile unit to bring the service bureau back to functioning capacity.

At the end of the mock disaster and recovery operation, a timeline was developed charting each component of the test. Any issues discovered were also identified for analysis. “As we followed our written procedures and ran through the drill to identify any limitations,” Cameron explained, “we gained important insight into the strengths of our contingency plans.”

He adds that Premier Data’s written plans for recovering both computer operations and transaction processing capabilities were sound. “We were able to gather information that could otherwise have been obtained only if we had experienced an actual disaster. From that, we gain the peace of mind of knowing our financial institution has an effective and proven plan in place that can be employed immediately to help us handle any disaster.” Cameron said the mock disaster and recovery operation was a resounding success for everyone involved.

To date, ITI and SunGard have performed 23 disaster recovery tests, each emphasizing variables such as data communications, multi-bank and transaction processing/image recovery. This training has helped prepare business continuity teams to respond effectively to several actual disasters, including the Hurricane Katrina catastrophe and 9/11 tragedy.

Dave Wegman is premier general manager for Information Technology, Inc. (ITI) in Lincoln , Neb. He can be reached at dave.wegman@iti.fiserv.com.

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