CU*Answers has announced the availability of the mid-year revision of their business continuity plan. This document is provided to credit unions on the CU*BASE® platform as part of their vendor due diligence process. As a core data processor for a network of over 200 credit unions, CU*Answers takes a proactive approach to updating and publishing the business continuity plan every six months. As part of the Business Continuity Program, all credit unions participate in live production rollovers to the secondary data center located 750 miles away, instilling confidence in the capabilities to recover when unexpected disruptive events occur. Each recovery and rollover effort is fully documented with reports provided for credit unions to review.
“It’s important for every credit union to have an understanding of their critical vendors’ ability to meet disaster recovery and continuity requirements,” said Jim Lawrence, vice president of Business Continuity. “Close to the top of that vendor list is the core processor.”
This begins with reviewing the vendor’s plan and program to ensure that it is:
- Comprehensive – includes key departments across the enterprise (not just a focus on technology).
- Test validated – sufficient frequency and scope of recovery testing (including a review of the test results and gap analysis reports).
- Production ready – contains opportunities for credit unions to participate in recovery testing to demonstrate the effectiveness and capabilities of the strategies in place.
More information about Business Continuity services available from CU*Answers can be found on their website.