ContinuitySA quarterly Newsletter - called Client Chronicles. Quarter 1 for 2012

1. Q1 2012
Keeping ContinuitySA
clients informed
Business Update
1. Top 10 Business
Top 10 Business
Con nuity Issues
for 2012 Continuity Issues
4. Innova on Group sponsors All
South African Team at 2012
Dakar
for 2012
5. Opportuni es and Challenges On 12 December 2012, the current cycle will come to an
associated with Cloud
Compu ng and the Mobile
end – according to the Mayan long count way of reckoning
Workforce me, that is. Opinion is divided on what this will portend.
6. Con nuity as a Service (CaaS) Spiritual enlightenment?
7. Con nuitySA provides Record Or apocalypse?
D
Number of Speakers for
oomsday scenarios aside, just what are the risks
Global Business Con nuity
that companies and their boards should be fac­
Awareness Week
toring into their planning for 2012.
8. CSA Open Days “In 2011, we felt a certain cau ous op mism
9. The BCI Breaks Through based on the fact that the recession seemed to
Borders be nearing its end,” says Michael Davies, man­
aging director of Con nuitySA, Africa’s leading
10. BC24 Online Incident provider of business con nuity and disaster re­
Simula on Game covery. “However, that now appears to have
11. Gautrain to play part in been op mis c. The global economy is not re­
AVBOB’s Disaster Recovery covering as quickly as hoped and our currency
Plans con nues to be vola le—in fact, on balance,
we think that the risks of social and poli cal
12. Con nuitySA launches IT turmoil have actually increased. The danger
Service Con nuity Training
is that hard­pressed companies may be
Course
tempted to cut spending on business con ­
13 iCon nuity 5 day Training offer nuity. However, given the risks and the new
Companies Act, that’s exactly what they
14. Triple4 expands service
should not do.
offering with launch of Michael Davies,
managed backup service “The good news is that the rapid matura on Managing Director, Con nuitySA
of business con nuity hos ng is making a
15. CSA Midrand upgrade much more sophis cated offering available.
16. Globility
Note from the Editor All Links
now Interac ve
and Live!
1

2. By tapping into the infrastructure­as­a­ Instability in the ruling party con nues That said, there are worrying reports
service model, companies can now to unse le poli cal and social life, and that lack of addi onal energy capacity
begin to turn business con nuity ca­ this will only get worse as the ANC’s at present is affec ng the ability of
pacity from a dormant asset to one leadership conference approaches. some data centres to expand.
that generates value for the IT environ­ Meanwhile – no doubt fuelled in part Other infrastructural challenges include
ment.” by the economic problems men oned the new toll roads around Gauteng and
Davies and his team at Con nuitySA above – strikes and social protests the new na onal health insurance sys­
have iden fied what they believe are seem to be ge ng more prevalent. tem. While both are desirable, they are
the top­10 issues facing business in For business, one direct consequence placing addi onal financial burdens on
2012 that are likely to impact on busi­ is frequent work stoppages, with staff the middle class—i.e. the small tax
ness con nuity strategies. actually finding it hard to get to their base on which everything rests. Is the
places of work. middle class coming close to feeling as
1. Socio­economic chal­ “It seems that South Africa is coming to squeezed as the poor and unemployed
and, if so, how will it make its distress
lenges ratchet up a notch a crossroads again, faced with the
known?
choice between the high and low
Last year, it seemed as though we roads,” says Davies. “We have to have
might be coming out the recession, but confidence that our leadership will 4. Water remains a concern
now the talk is all about the dreaded make the right choices but, meanwhile,
double dip. Economic hardship is exac­ Water security remains a problem in
prudence demands a renewed focus on this country, exacerbated by the pollu­
erba ng social and poli cal tensions, safety measures, including proper busi­
especially as retrenchments swell the on of our exis ng water stocks.
ness con nuity plans.”
hordes of unemployed. Too many peo­ Although the government finally woke
ple without work or the prospect of it up to the problem of acid mine
places a huge burden on the state, pro­ 3. Na onal infrastructure drainage and made R400 million avail­
vides the climate for crime and is likely remains weak – and the able, media reports indicate that li le
to fuel tension between the haves and middle class is feeling ac on has actually occurred. If substan­
the have­nots. the pinch al progress is not made in finding a so­
lu on, the acid water is expected to
2. Government perform­ While Eskom contrived to come begin decan ng into the Johannesburg
through a very cold winter with rela­
ance and service deliv­ vely few blackouts, concern remains
basin in March 2012—it is already de­
can ng on the West Rand. Companies
ery s ll lag behind high as summer is the me for planned with IT equipment in basements need
expecta on maintenance. Another concern is the to remain on high alert.
Ongoing service delivery and corrup­ availability of skills to maintain the
Other infrastructural challenges include
on issues have con nued to fuel aging infrastructure at Koeberg, and to
the new toll roads around Gauteng and
widespread social unrest. Some com­ operate planned new nuclear power fa­
the new na onal health insurance sys­
mentators are even talking about pop­ cili es. On the posi ve side, recent
tem. While both are desirable, they are
ular uprisings comparable to those that moves to introduce independent
placing addi onal financial burdens on
occurred earlier in the year in North power genera on and green power
the middle class – i.e. the small tax
Africa. into the South African energy market
base on which everything rests.
are welcome.
2

3. Is the middle class coming close to feel­
Top 10 business 9. Mobility is crea ng huge
ing as squeezed as the poor and unem­ new data risks
ployed and, if so, how will it make its continuity issues
distress known? The growing range of smart mobile de­
for 2012 vices, and the explosion in useful appli­
4. Water remains a concern ca ons, has made mobility a fact of life.
At the same me, there is growing
Water security remains a problem in In combina on with the recommenda­ awareness of the value of a company’s
this country, exacerbated by the pollu­ ons of the King Commission, the new data, hence the emergence of “data as
on of our exis ng water stocks. Al­ act has made risk management a much a pla orm”. Securing and backing up
though the government finally woke up more important item on the board the corporate data on mobile devices
to the problem of acid mine drainage agenda—and this includes IT risk. usually owned by employees rather
and made R400 million available,
Boards are increasingly accountable to than companies is raising CIOs’ temper­
media reports indicate that li le ac on
all stakeholders rather than just share­ atures worldwide.
has actually occurred. If substan al
progress is not made in finding a solu­ holders. In this regard, environmental
on, the acid water is expected to issues are becoming more prominent, 10. Business con nuity is
begin decan ng into the Johannesburg which may add impetus to the move to­ s ll not integrated into
basin in March 2012—it is already de­ wards cloud compu ng, which has the
can ng on the West Rand. Companies effect of greening the IT department. corporate strategy
with IT equipment in basements need Given the scale and magnitude of the
to remain on high alert. 7. The s ng in the supply challenges business faces, the danger
remains that business con nuity is
chain tail marginalised and siloed. In many in­
5. Worsening business stances, financial pressures are causing
Recent natural disasters like the
climate volcanic erup on in Iceland and the companies to cut back on business con­
The risks men oned elsewhere will earthquake and tsunami in Japan have nuity. For example, banks which have
con nue to weigh on risk­averse for­ emphasised the flipside of global inter­ retrenched large numbers of people
eign investors, while the vola lity of connectedness. In order to ensure busi­ now have excess office space which
the rand will encourage destabilising ness con nuity, companies must they tend to use to provide their own
capital movements. The socio­poli cal increasingly consider their en re sup­ workplace recovery—and this may lead
ply chains. Adequate consul ng around to a business con nuity solu on that is
challenges we have men oned are also
the business con nuity threats origi­ less than op mal. A related issue is that
taking their toll on the outlook of local
the long­term viability of smaller busi­
business. With the business confidence na ng outside of the organiza on is
ness con nuity providers is looking less
index declining, investment in equip­ impera ve.
certain in this climate. We think this will
ment and people will be curtailed at a prompt a “flight to quality” in many
me when they are more necessary 8. Cloud compu ng blurs cases.
than ever. Militant unions and de­
mands for increases that are signifi­
vision As indicated above, the emergence of
cantly above infla on are further new opportuni es to remodel business
As predicted, 2011 saw considerable
con nuity using a private cloud ap­
worsening the business outlook. With movement in cloud compu ng. While
proach is a game­changer, offering cost
revenues under pressure, many com­ it’s clear that cloud compu ng has real savings, a much more effec ve product
panies will be tempted to skimp on benefits, non­specialist public cloud of­ and the opportunity to get a return on
business con nuity but this approach is ferings should not be confused with your business con nuity investment.
short­sighted. specialist business con nuity, which is
also making use of cloud­based “The outlook is less op mis c than it
was 12 months ago, and the ANC’s
6. Regulatory burdens and approaches.
leadership conference during 2012 will
responsibili es increase “The need to have absolute quality as­ unfortunately distract government’s at­
surance and security in terms of your ten on from its real job. On the posi­
Promulgated during 2011, the new business con nuity remains, especially ve side, companies that understand
Companies Act has made the directors in light of boards’ enhanced accounta­ the risks can plan accordingly—and
of companies personally bility,” Davies notes. “On the other troubled mes also create tremendous
liable for the outcome of their deci­ hand, the greater availability of band­ opportunity for those with their wits
sions. The legisla on is new and width and improvements in technology about them,” concludes Davies.
untested, making compliance even are changing the model.”
more risky than it might otherwise
have been.
3

4. INNOVATION GROUP SPONSORS
ALL SOUTH AFRICAN
TEAM 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
D
sponsorship backing to the all South African Imperial Toyota SA team at the 2012 Dakar.
ubbed, one of the tough­ team at the end of the race with 2009 reliability, innova on and the delivery
est motorsport races in winner, Giniel de Villiers, and German of sustainable solu ons are very appli­
the world, the Dakar cov­ co­driver, Dirk von Zitzewitz, achieving cable to a race such as the Dakar Rally.
ered some 9 000km over a third place podium and first me Par cipa ng in and comple ng the
14 days in three countries Dakar compe tors Duncan Vos and Dakar Rally requires constant innova­
namely Argen na, Chile and Peru. Rob Howie finishing 11th overall. on and the team applied innova ve
When the team started from the “Providing backing to the Imperial Toy­ strategies throughout to not only com­
coastal town of Mar Del Plata on 1 Jan­ ota South Africa Team was a clear cut plete this grueling race but finish with
uary 2012, the group was cau ously decision” says Glen Mollink, CEO of In­ truly amazing results.”
op mis c about the results – a er all, nova on Group South Africa. “For In­
this was team’s first entry in the Dakar nova on Group, being a part of the For more informa on on Innova on
and they were up against seasoned toughest race in the world and sup­ Group, go to
Dakar veteran teams including Mini por ng an all South African team was www.innova on­group.com/sa
and Hummer. No one could have pre­ very close to our heart. Our values of
dicted the remarkable outcome of the
witz
on Zitze
s and Dirk v
e Villier
Giniel d
4

5. Opportuni es and Challenges
associated with cloud compu ng
and the mobile workforce
• How can clients ensure they have an
Cloud Compu ng effec ve BCM solu on in place? –
Subscribe to Con nuitySA’s diverse
Opportuni es range of resilient Server Replica on, Wayne Reed
Managed Backup and Virtual Hos ng
• How do you ensure immediate scal­ General Manager: Research
solu ons! and Development
ability during a disaster? – Cloud
providers offer improved flexibility to
scale and change resources depend­ Challenges Mobile Workforce
ing on requirements at me of disas­
ter, although o en dependant on • What are the risks associated with
reserving an cipated capacity to be Cloud Services? – Security concerns
remain the greatest inhibitor to
Opportuni es
made available at me of disaster.
adop on and must be assessed and • What BCM specific benefits are as­
• What effect is evident on recovery challenged with the cloud provider. sociated with a mobile workforce?
objec ves? – Improved RTOs and – Deploying mobile workers presents
RPOs are possible nega ng the need • What opera onal risks are associ­
a great BCM strategy by default as
for lengthy recovery from tape back­ ated with Cloud Services? – Less
users become accustomed to work­
ups. control over infrastructure is appar­
ing from various loca ons.
ent when u lising cloud providers.
• What technologies contribute to
be er recoverability in the Cloud? – • What benefits are associated with a
• Can data be easily transferred to an­
Virtualisa on in the cloud presents mobile workforce? – Mobile users
other provider? What if a cloud
improved flexibility with less reliance are be er equipped to deal with
provider collapses or goes out of
on the underlying infrastructure. mundane interrup ons, e.g. unable
business? – Companies require a
to enter the primary workplace,
• What is the impact on me to re­ clear and prac cal exit strategy when
protest ac on, severe traffic conges­
cover? – Rapid implementa on and using cloud providers in order to en­
on etc.
recovery of systems becomes possi­ sure business con nuance.
ble with scalable capacity available • What effect has the deregula on of
• What must occur to improve adop­
from cloud providers. the telecoms industry had on re­
on of with Cloud Services? – Im­
mote access? – Access to mul ple
• What is the effect on company proved standards and regula ons are
network providers presents the abil­
resources? – Minimal capital expen­ required with cloud compu ng to
ity to implement resilient and load­
diture requirements; reduced re­ address security and interoperability
balanced networks that can be
quirement for in­house IT skills; IT
• Can failover be easily tested to en­ tested on an on­going basis.
personnel are be er u lised with
sure the process works? – Compa­
business ac vi es. • How is Bring Your Own Device
nies must ensure that cloud vendors
• What opera onal benefits are asso­ (BYOD) affec ng mobile workers? –
have tested and demonstrable busi­
ciated with Cloud Services? – Direct BYOD is gaining more acceptance by
ness con nuity strategies.
business benefits are evident with businesses as increased produc vity
reduced down me due to the inher­ • What could prevent a company is evident with employees using both
ent resilience in cloud architecture from adop ng Cloud? – Regula ons personal and business devices, as
design. may prohibit companies backing up well as users becoming be er
and storing data on shared infra­ equipped to respond and operate
• What indirect benefits are associ­ during a disaster owing to mul ple
structure or outside of country bor­
ated with Cloud Services? – Be er access and communica on methods.
ders.
u lisa on of bandwidth can be
achieved a er hours to support ini­
a ves such as online backup strate­
gies.
5

6. • How should CTOs be approaching ing with remote access. IT risk man­ • What risks are associated with
the growing mobile workforce? agement focus is shi ing from pure Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) de­
– With the rapidly evolving con­ technology to increased emphasis vice? – Security and protec on of
sumeriza on of mobile IT devices on people, processes and technol­ company informa on remains a
CTOs should aim to be dynamic ogy in order to be effec ve. challenge and should be addressed
thought leaders adop ng to the ever • How do you prevent infected and by appropriate processes, policies
changing IT landscape as opposed to unauthorised users compromising and technology.
se ng fixed, rigid technology strate­ the company network? – Deploy a • What considera ons are applicable
gies. remote access service that provides from a BCM perspec ve? – A highly
• How can clients ensure they have a layered security approach, namely scalable VPN infrastructure is re­
an effec ve BCM solu on in place a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) VPN as quired to cope with increased re­
for mobile users? – Subscribe to a method of securing ini al access, mote access requests via alternate
Con nuitySA’s range of resilient Net­ and a firewall and Intrusion Protec­ routes during a disaster.
work solu ons! on System (IPS) to provide an addi­ • What risks rela ng to cri cal com­
onal layer of security. pany informa on are associated
Challenges • What about the prolifera on of
mul ple end­point devices? – It is
with a growing mobile workforce?
– Business cri cal data on mobile de­
• What part does connec vity play becoming increasingly difficult to vices is growing and must be safe­
with a mobile workforce? – Reliable regulate remote access by so many guarded; technology can address
connec vity is cri cal for mobile different devices (PCs, notebooks, this requirement.
users and should be planned to be iPads, smart phones, etc.) which
resilient as it essen ally becomes present a significant security risk to
the lifeline for mobile users during a organisa ons. Companies should
disaster. focus on securing the company net­
• What is a major concern associated work regardless of the end­point de­
with remote users? – Security be­ vices used.
comes more important when deal­
Kindly RSVP with Cindy Bodenstein on cindy.bodenstein@con nuitysa.co.za
We look forward to having you join us.
6

7. Con nuitySA provides record number
of speakers for global Business
Con nuity Awareness Week
Business Con nuity Awareness Week (BCAW) will
take place from March 19 – 23rd March 2012 once
again facilitated by the Business Con nuity Ins ­
tute (BCI). Con nuitySA, South Africa’s leading
Business Con nuity Management service provider
will provide a record number of speakers.
B CAW is a global educa onal event designed to help
people understand more about business con nuity
management (BCM), its applica ons and benefits.
This year’s event will provide new opportuni es to engage
with experts around the world and learn more about BCM.
The segmenta on process traverses the en re spectrum of
IT infrastructure from front end to back­end components.
The IIA process harnesses the combined exper se of the
CIO, CRO and CFO in ensuring sound investments in hybrid
IT Service Con nuity and Disaster Recovery solu ons which
The BCI and its partners will be publishing new research and protect profitability and maximise returns for shareholders.
papers throughout the week. Through a series of Webinars To par cipate in this presenta on visit
interested par es can engage with authors on these reports. h p://www.brigh alk.com/webcast/1476/42021
The webinars can be viewed live and ques ons could be
asked or watched online at one’s leisure. Contact Centre Con nuity
This year Con nuitySA has been asked to present 6 webinars Jus n Hammann, Business Development Manager will talk
which demonstrates the quality of South Africa’s BCM skills. on the topic of Con nuity Management for Contact Centres
They will cover the following topics : on March 20th at 12.00pm.
Con nuity as a Service (CaaS) When it comes to contact centres, the importance of ensur­
ing business con nuity is significantly magnified. Whether
Jus n Lord, General Manager, BCM Hos ng will speak on agents are fielding incoming sales calls or customer service
Con nuity as a Service (CAAS) on the 19th March at inquiries, it’s no secret that customers are very unforgiving
12.00pm. The past decade has seen significant changes in when the service is unavailable. As for new prospects who
the way Recovery Services are delivered. As companies look can’t reach you; chances are, they will take their business
to reduce recovery mes from days to hours, in some cases elsewhere. When some contact centres are unavailable, the
even less, service providers are turning to Cloud Services to result is mere inconvenience and annoyance for clients. On
deliver faster, scalable recovery solu ons. In this presenta­ the other side of the scale, the effects could mean severe fi­
on he will look at the Managed Recovery Services that are nancial impact, tarnish to reputa on and even loss of lives
available to date and technology that is changing the way (in the case of emergency response centres). Regardless of
these solu ons are delivered. where your contact centre fit on this scale, it is a strategically
The presenta on can be broadcast live and stored on important func on that connects you to your customers, po­
h p://www.brigh alk.com/webcast/1476/42015 ten al customers and stakeholders. This discussion covers
the planning, tes ng and ul mately, the effec ve “orches­
Infrastructure Impact Analysis (IIA) tra on” of the contact centre recovery process.
Millington Gumbo, General Manager, Advisory Services will His presenta on can be located at
talk on Infrastructure Impact Analysis on the 19th March at h p://www.brigh alk.com/webcast/1476/42025
2.00pm. The ICT Infrastructure Impact Analysis(IIA) is a
ground breaking methodology designed to facilitate the seg­
menta on of key ICT infrastructure in various ers of cri ­
cality and iden fy cost effec ve ways of providing IT Service
Con nuity solu on for each er.
7

8. CM² Maturity Model Business Con nuity in the Supply Chain
Karen Humphris, Senior Advisor,Advisory Services will pres­ Derek Taylor, Business Development Manager will present
ent her webinar on March 20th at 2.00pm. A demonstrable on March 23rd at 4.00pm. For many ordinary people ‘supply
ability to survive and recover from major disrup ve events chains’ are a means to an end, they represent a mechanism
has become the single most important success aspect of any through which goods and services are delivered on a daily
business con nuity management (BCM) programme. The basis, all around the world. Today’s supply chains are mul ­
CM2 framework has been designed to provide analy cal in­ level complex opera ons that not only rely on the flow of
forma on which can be used in determining an organisa­ produce and goods, but also rely heavily on people,
on’s ability to survive any opera onal disrup on resul ng integrated informa on systems, infrastructure, transport
from a single or a series of worst­case events. and distribu on networks – an interrup on to any of
Her presenta on can be viewed on these could result in the dis­con nuity of the business.
h p://www.brigh alk.com/webcast/1476/42027 The link to his presenta on is
h p://www.brigh alk.com/webcast/1476/42073
Adop ng Cloud in your Back Up Strategy For ongoing news on the host of events running over this
week visit
Sasha Malic, Solu on Design will talk on March 23rd at h p://www.con nuitysa.co.za/media/events2.htm.
2.00pm. He believes Cloud should be included in a backup
strategy to reduce business risk, protect data and to im­
Further informa on on the total programme for BCAW
prove recovery mes in the event of an outage. Various new
can be found on www.bcaw2012.com.
technologies exist to enable a cloud backup methodology
which will be discussed.
Addi onal informa on about Con nuitySA can be found at
His presenta on will be found at www.con nuitysa.com
h p://www.brigh alk.com/webcast/1476/42069
Email cindy.bodenstein@con nuitysa.co.za to confirm your a endance.
8

9. The BCI Breaks
Through Borders
T
hrough the ongoing support However, since early last year, a er the
of BCI members, member­ elec on of the BCI Commi ee South
ship organisa ons and inter­ Africa, we have seen a resurgence of in­
ested par es, the BCI is terest and focus on Business Con nuity,
slowly breaking through spearheaded by the South African BCI
African borders. In 2005, the year in Forum Chairman, Dr Cliff Ferguson.
which the first South Africa BCI Forum The objec ve of establishing the
was launched, there was just a hand full commi ee was to bring together all in­
of members spread across Africa. The terested par es across the con nent,
launch was not only the first in South­ star ng with South Africa. The Terms of
ern Africa, but also in Africa. As at the Reference created by the Commi ee
end of January this year, Africa has ap­ confirmed “The purpose and scope of
proximately four hundred and eighty­ the BCI COMMITTEE SOUTH AFRICA is
eight (488) BCI members, of which a as follows:
hundred and thirty­three (133) are BCI Louise Theunissen (MBCI)(PMP),
statutory members. The membership 1. To support Southern African BC
BCI Board Member
sta s cs across Africa (statutory and Prac oners and members, on
non­statutory) are represented in the behalf of BCI, with Business Con nu­ To ensure that the key objec ves,
graph below: ity knowledge and value added aligned to the overall strategy were
services; being addressed, several workgroups
were created and managed by mem­
bers of the BCI Commi ee South Africa.
The ac ve workgroups are iden fied
below:
1. BCI Chapter SADC: Establish and
maintain a SADC Chapter;
2. Communica ons: To create a
communica on channel between
the BCI Commi ee South Africa and
BCI members and prospec ve mem­
bers;
3. Events: To promote any events that
may be of interest to BCI members
and prospec ve members. Iden fy
From 2005 the South African Forum 2. To promote and increase the busi­ any future event requirements and
maintained momentum. Cons tu on­ ness con nuity awareness within assist with the associated organisa­
ally, a BCI Forum is a voluntary interest SADC; and on as and were required;
group with no regulatory mandate or fi­ 3. To increase the BCI footprint in 4. Research: Provide BCI with feedback
nancial responsibility, which follows SADC through the establishment of and support on various ini a ves
certain terms of reference to align with a BC Network of like­minded prac ­ and requests rela ng to African per­
the BCI. oners and members.” spec ves gathered from member
par cipa on; and
9

10. ...The BCI Breaks Through Borders
5. Intergovernmental, Cross border The next step in finalising the SADC • Planning around the development
and Parastatal: Create awareness Chapter will be to submit a business and launch of a BCI SADC website is
within the inter­governmental sec­ plan to the BCI Board for final approval. currently in progress.
tor to improve opportuni es for Further to the Chapter approval, addi­ The success of all ac vi es ini ated by
growth. onal key achievements: the BCI Commi ee South Africa and
Although each workgroup plays a key • The last quarterly forum held in Jan­ SADC BCI members is dependent on
role, the Commi ee’s ini al focus is on uary 2012 hosted in excess of forty­ the par cipa on of all members and
the establishment of a SADC Chapter in five (45) par cipants; membership organisa ons. To those
order to secure its future ac vi es. To members and membership organisa­
date we are proud to state that the ini­ • Next Quarterly Newsle er will be ons who have not been involved to
al proposal for the Establishment of a distributed by the end of March date, The BCI Commi ee South Africa
BCI Chapter in the SADC Region was 2012; is in need of your interest and support.
submi ed to the BCI Board on the 27th • Discussions are currently underway
of February 2012. A er careful review, with the BCI to host a BCI SADC Con­
the SADC Chapter Establishment Re­ ference and Awards Ceremony this
quest was approved. year; and
Upcoming BCI Forum Dates for 2012
28 March 2012 • 30 May 2012 • 25 July 2012 • 28 November 2012
Should you have any enquiries as to how you can make a difference or would like to be included in regularly
communica on, please contact Louise Theunissen (MBCI)(PMP), BCI Board Member
Mobile: +27 82 928 7158 or Mail to: louise.theunissen@con nuitysa.co.za
10

11. Gautrain to play part in
AVBOB’s disaster recovery plans
Avbob recently became a Con nuitySA client, and
performed its first annual disaster recovery test
using the Con nuitySA Midrand data centre in
early December 2011. With offices situated in the
Pretoria central business district, using the Gautrain to trans­
Julian Marais puts port key personnel to the centre seemed like a logical choice.
Gautrain
through its paces
“In the past, we’ve always had to transport the key staff used for the test
As a Business Development Manager for Con ­
nuitySA, Julian Marais spends much of his in vehicles to the disaster recovery site,” says Willie van der Berg, proj­
day travelling to visit clients. He recently ect leader: financial systems at Avbob. “To beat the traffic we typi­
spent two weeks using the Gautrain to see cally le early in the morning, and we had to limit the number of
whether it could be a transport solu on for people we could take.”
him—and how cost­effec ve it would be.
By contrast, a full team of key staff was able to par cipate in this test.
Marais says that he was able to make all his
Employees came to work at the normal me and used the Gautrain bus to
appointments using the Gautrain as the pri­
mary means of transport. “But I did need travel the short distance to the Pretoria sta on. Twenty minutes later they were
to plan much more carefully and each met by transport arranged by Con nuitySA and Avbob at the Midrand sta on,
journey took much longer because it and taken to the disaster recovery centre.
wasn’t direct,” he observes.
The staff was divided into two groups, each travelling on a different train, to en­
On the plus side, he found the costs to hance security.
be slightly lower than car travel –
while the produc ve me spent On arrival, the Avbob team was pleased to find desks ready and wai ng, and the
in buses and the train was also Avbob environment running on their computers. By midday they had completed
a posi ve. “It was great to be the test and were making the reverse trip.
able to keep up with e­mails
and other admin while being Van der Berg says the Gautrain experience was excellent. The staff enjoyed the
driven,” he says. ease and speed of the journey, while the company valued the opportunity to move
His overall conclusion: Not ideal the full disaster recovery team in rela ve safety.
for somebody with his job, but “Pu ng all your key personnel in one vehicle for a road trip is quite a risk in itself,”
surprisingly effec ve. One comments Van der Berg. “It’s also a highly produc ve solu on because you don’t
needs to use this mode of
have valuable people ed up in traffic! We’ll definitely be factoring the Gautrain into
transport for the right
purpose. our disaster plans.”
Pictures: compliments of
www.gautrain.co.za
11

12. 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.
The two­day course is targeted at IT Key elements of the IT Service
and Business Con nuity Management Con nuity Course include:
(BCM) professionals responsible for • The link between BCM and IT
the con nued up me of IT services Service Con nuity
within their organisa ons. Management; Millington Gumbo Gumbo (MBCI)
“Effec ve BCM focuses on ensuring • The evolu on of IT Service GM, Advisory Services
companies have the ability to restore Con nuity;
• The latest concepts and trends in IT BCM plans that meet the highest stan­
and con nue cri cal business opera­
Service Con nuity; dards, ensuring their companies are
ons no ma er what happens,” says
• Conduc ng an Infrastructure ready for any emergency.”
Millington Gumbo, GM of Con nu­
itySA’s Advisory Services. Impact Analysis; The IT Service Con nuity course will
• Formula ng and implemen ng cost be held on the following days:
effec ve IT Service Con nuity
• 24th ­ 25th April 2012 (Cape Town)
strategies to meet business
requirements; • 23rd ­ 24th May 2012
• Security management in IT Service (Johannesburg)
Con nuity; • 6th ­ 7th August 2012
• Tes ng the IT Service Con nuity (Johannesburg)
framework; and • 27th ­ 28th September 2012
• A Con nuity­as­a­Service case (Cape Town)
study. • 3rd ­ 4th October 2012
(Johannesburg)
A endees will not simply be bom­
barded with theory, but will be taught For more informa on contact
skills proven in the real world by ac ve training@con nuitysa.co.za
BCM prac oners with MBCI (Mem­ or call +27 (0)11 554 8000.
ber of the Business Con nuity Ins ­
tute) cer fica ons. The course is based
on the Good Prac ce Guidelines of the
“In today’s technology­ BCI and complies with the Bri sh Stan­
intensive business environment, dard BS 25999 to ensure it is on par
the ability to ensure IT services are with interna onal best prac ces.
available as and when required is non­ “Effec ve Business Con nuity will only
nego able. become a reality in Africa once busi­
“Yet, despite their best inten ons, few ness leaders and managers have the
opera onal experts are able to imple­ requisite skills and understanding to
ment an effec ve BCM service without drive the implementa on of workable
the appropriate training and insight BCM solu ons,” notes Gumbo. “The IT
into the world of Business Con nuity Service Con nuity course is another
and Disaster Recovery. This is where step in ensuring companies on the con­
the Complete Con nuity Academy nent are capable of implemen ng
plays a crucial role.”
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13. 13

14. Triple4 expands service offering with
launch of managed backup service
Infrastructure solu on company Triple4 has launched a managed backup offering that
complements its exis ng range of services. Managed Backup Service (MBS) offers compa­
nies a cost­effec ve alterna ve to the tradi onal backup method that typically involves
backing up to tape and, frequently, storing the tapes offsite.
“Managed backup takes advantage of Local storage needs to be provided for
the greater availability of reasonably the backups, which are then replicated
priced bandwidth to provide compa­ via a secure network connec on to
nies with a hosted and, crucially, man­ Triple4's fully redundant and managed
aged backup service,” says Anton data centre. In the event of a restore
Coetser, service director at Triple4. being needed, it is delivered back to
the client via the same route.
“We believe this service meets a real
need in the market and complements “Online backup is, of course, available
Triple4's so ware as a service and in­ already, but what sets our offering
frastructure offerings, which all aim to apart is the managed component. Our
deliver business benefits.” consul ng division will first engage
with the client to understand its busi­
Coetser points out that tradi onal tape
ness and define its backup needs, and
backups are extremely expensive be­ Anton Coetser
then configure the so ware agents ac­
cause they require not only tapes and Services Director, Triple4
cordingly. The backup solu on has to
tape drives, but also backup so ware
align with the business' needs, and the
and backup licences — changes in li­ Triple4
technology it has in place,” Coetser ex­
censing prac ces have meant that ap­
plains. “Therea er, the service is man­ Triple4 provides clients with IT infra­
plica on aware licences have to be
aged by us proac vely, so we monitor structure solu ons that truly enable
purchased at o en inflated prices to
for problems and make the necessary their business strategies. The com­
provide full backup func onality. Costs
upgrades for a set cost per server per pany offers consul ng services, out­
can rise quickly for this op on, par c­
month. sourcing services, managed services
ularly when one factors in possible off­
site storage and the “hidden” HR cost “It always works out cheaper than the and hos ng. These services can be
of the person to physically load and tradi onal tape storage solu on and it combined to suit the client's par cular
store the tapes each day. transfers the responsibility for the needs and level of IT maturity.
management of the backup environ­ Founded as IMMIX Network Solu ons
“Companies know that they need to do in 2007, Triple4 was officially
ment to experts.
backups, but o en they simply can't af­ launched in September 2011. Con ­
ford the costs. As a result, they skimp “Tradi onal backups via tapes work nuitySA, Africa's premier provider of
the process, placing themselves at risk. and it's a tried­and­tested solu on, business con nuity solu ons, owns
This is o en a risk that the decision­ but, par cularly for small to medium 50% of Triple4, with the directors
makers aren't even aware of,” Coetser companies with small IT departments owning the remaining 50%. Triple4
says. “As far as the execu ve suite is and ght budgets, a managed backup serves clients in all industry sectors
concerned, backups are being done. service is the answer in terms of relia­ and of all sizes, from micro enter­
What they don't realise is that corners bility, ease of use and cost,” Coetser prises to corporate mul na onals.
are being cut — un l it's too late.” concludes.
Triple4's new service means the com­ For more informa on visit www.triple4.co.za
pany can install the necessary so ware
and configure so ware agents on the
client's servers accordingly.
14

15. idrand
e process at our M
A as part of our upgrad roduct of ou
r new
Con nuityS final p
to sh owcase our
Site, are proud a.
recep on a nd pause are
15

16. Note from the Editor
With Con nuitySA growing at such a fast pace with our latest site developments and
new 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 always
keep 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)
16