London, UK: November 20, 2007: SunGard Availability Services, the pioneer and leading provider of Information Availability and business continuity services, today announced that it is the first business continuity specialist to be certified against the new British Standard for business continuity management (BCM), BS 25999.
By securing certification against the Standard, SunGard has demonstrated to auditors that the BCM processes at its European head office are appropriately documented and verifiably address the six key elements of the business continuity lifecycle: solid management processes, embedding a culture of business continuity across the organisation, understanding the organisation, determining and implementing the business continuity strategy, and regular exercising, maintenance and review.
“It is hard to overstate the importance of BS 25999 – not just to the organisations that adopt it, but to the UK economy as a whole,” said Keith Tilley, managing director UK and senior vice president Europe, SunGard Availability Services. “The Standard provides real clarity, helping organisations ensure they can continue to serve their customers in an increasingly uncertain world. Our own experience of securing certification to the Standard means we are in a unique position to help our customers implement its recommendations.”
Events such as the floods of summer 2007, the 7/7 bombings and the Buncefield oil depot blaze have increased awareness of the need for robust business continuity and Information Availability programmes. Responding to calls for an objective, cross-industry standard for BCM, British Standards Institution (BSi) published part one of BS 25999 – which described key concepts and processes – in November 2006. The Standard has since become one of the most-downloaded standards it has published. Part two of BS 25999, published today, defines how organisations must implement these processes, and provides a toolkit for external auditors to measure organisations’ compliance.
From Adversity to Availability, SunGard’s landmark review of business continuity and Information Availability, to be published in late 2007, explains how BS 25999 can help organisations differentiate from the competition and become more agile. Furthermore, it predicts that BS 25999 will act as a catalyst for business continuity to become a key element of the business environment, rapidly becoming a core element of service level agreements and tenders – making it in every company’s interest to secure certification.
Andrew Morris, Business Development Director, BSi Management Systems, added: “BS 25999 obliges organisations to analyse at every detail of their operations – from systems to supply chain – and provides a mechanism for ensuring they can continue to function at a pre-determined level, come what may. The Standard clearly defines core business continuity management processes, and, in offering a certification scheme, provides a mechanism for organisations’ BCM systems to be objectively reviewed and certified.”
About SunGard and BS 25999
In its capacity as a representative member of Intellect, SunGard Availability Services (UK) Limited was invited to join the BSI committee panel which prepared the BS25999 Standard for Business Continuity Management. As such, SunGard has played a significant role in the development of the new British Standard.