Business Continuity Solutions
 SDS has created a Business Continuity program, overseen by a Master Certified Planner, which specifically addresses the challenges and requirements of banking clients. We have tailored our Business Continuity Planning services to address industry best practices and the standards set forth by the regulators who govern the banking community.
Whether you have a plan already in place or need to create one from scratch, our proven methodology can help ensure that your plan addresses all critical elements of your business and is compliant with industry regulations and guidelines. You can rely on us to provide a complete program for smooth recovery from any type of business interruption.
We offer a full range of Business Continuity services including:
Plan Assessment
SDS can assess your current Business Continuity Plan or Disaster Recovery Plan if you already have one in place. The plan will be reviewed for compliance with industry best practices and current regulation standards. SDS can also propose services for augmenting the plan with recommended and/or necessary enhancements.
Risk Assessment
SDS can identify threats to which the bank is most vulnerable. Surveys can aid in gathering this information. Each threat will be assigned a rating to help identify those posing the greatest potential impact to the bank. The threats will then be reviewed and any mitigating steps will be implemented to help eliminate them.
Business Impact Analysis
SDS can identify and prioritize critical business functions and the resources required to recover them within necessary Recovery Time Objectives (RTOs) based on maximum allowable downtime. These requirements are identified by conducting a Business impact Analysis (BIA), which includes:
- Developing and distributing client-specific questionnaires for each business unit to complete.
- Conducting interviews with business unit BCP representatives to gather information regarding their daily responsibilities.
- Analyzing the information gathered to determine the critical functions of the business unit as it relates to the company’s ability to continue business. This is done by identifying:
- Impact (both qualitative and quantitative) to the department or bank as a whole if the function was not recovered.
- Dependencies between departments.
- Resources required for continuing critical business processes.
- Assisting clients in determining the most appropriate Recovery Solution based on the findings of the BIA, executive approval, and cost.
Plan Development
SDS will develop a Business Continuity Plan according to industry best practices and standards. The plan will detail the process of responding to an incident as well as recovering from a business interruption within the predetermined Recovery Time Objectives (RTOs). The plan will include Business Continuity Teams responsible for specific tasks to ensure a most efficient and effective recovery. Considerations for incorporating Business Continuity into daily corporate decision-making practices, as well as current regulation standards will be discussed during plan development.
Pandemic Planning
SDS can assist the bank in developing a plan for operating under the scenario of a pandemic outbreak. In this case, attention will be paid to those circumstances that are unique to a pandemic and SDS will develop assumptions and recovery tasks specific to this type of outbreak’s effect on your business. The plan will incorporate information on Pandemic Planning that has become industry standard.
Plan Maintenance
SDS will develop and manage a maintenance program that works best for the bank’s corporate culture. Business requirements are always changing and if the plan is not updated accordingly, critical elements may not be considered during a recovery event. It is important to review the recovery strategy on a regular basis to be sure that it sufficiently addresses the details required to ensure a smooth recovery.
Testing Assistance
SDS can assist the bank in planning for and executing various types of recovery exercises to ensure that critical elements of the plan are tested. Testing promotes awareness of the plan, satisfies compliance, and also helps identify the details and documentation that must be updated.
BCP Awareness
SDS can create an awareness program for your employees to ensure that each is familiar with the plan as well as their expected role in a recovery situation. Whether it is conducting awareness presentations, sending mailers, or creating posters to hang in your common areas, SDS will help you in creating a program that works best for your company culture. Awareness allows for a smoother recovery at the time of an actual event.
Contingency Site / Alternative Site Recovery Solutions
SDS has partnered with leading providers of back-up recovery solutions to ensure that our customers can implement an effective, testable recovery strategy to assist them in recovering from any type of business interruption. We have selected experienced providers to offer solutions for power, space, technology and connectivity that are both proven and inexpensive.
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