On November 5, 2014, CU*Answers, a 100% credit union-owned CUSO, completed a disaster recovery test of the Electronic Check Processing (ECP) environment that serves 75 client credit unions processing nearly 1 million checks monthly. Annual testing is performed to validate documented recovery procedures and to confirm the capabilities of the continuity and recovery strategies implemented.

For the purpose of this test, application servers are restored 24 hours prior in a virtualized environment at the CU*Answers secondary datacenter. This provides the Item Processing recovery staff the opportunity to “replay” the transactions of the previous day from the alternate location and match totals with the production environment.

“Due to the changing check processing landscape and the time-sensitive nature of these types of transactions, it is imperative that we perform these tests regularly” states Jim Lawrence, CBCP, Manager of Business Continuity and Recovery Services at CU*Answers. “As with each recovery exercise, there are challenges that require creative solutions and opportunities for teachable moments. The end result is an organization within a network that is more knowledgeable, better prepared, and more resilient.”

At the conclusion of each recovery test and exercise, a gap analysis report is published for review by all key stakeholders across the network. Additional information about the CU*Answers Business Continuity Program and available Disaster Recovery Planning services for credit unions can be found at (www.cuanswers.com/solutions/business-continuity/).