Man from the Pru bolsters business continuity

As IT and business become entwined, companies are being forced to think about a back-up plan if they suffer from system failure.

For Prudential Insurance business continuity is more than just a wish - it is corporate policy. When it came to implementing that policy the first step for Phil Hine, business continuity advisor at Prudential, was to carry out a business impact analysis.

"Cost is obviously very important, over a three-year deal you'll be looking at quite a considerable financial outlay, so in that respect we have to look at what value we're getting from it and look at what the alternatives are. For example is it better to provide the solution in-house or is a third party solution the best option?" Hine explained.

He warned that without an impact analysis to identify which business units are the most critical, a company could end up paying for redundant standby workstations.

At Prudential, once the critical business functions had been identified, it was up to the IT team to ensure the company got a viable and cost effective end product.