The Client and Its Challenge
A global multi-media company headquartered in Europe but with significant operations in the United States knew it needed to develop a sophisticated business continuity program. Its New York City operations, which serve as the U.S. headquarters and global hub for information technology systems, had no such contingency plans, and the client wanted to create them following the attacks of September 11. Coupled with that were the facts that it needed to be in compliance with the business continuity requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and it was having difficulty securing insurance coverage at the desired rate because such plans were not in place and the carrier was specifically inquiring about it.

The client turned to Marsh because of its ability to deliver a comprehensive solution, one that could be standardized for use globally.

The Risk Consulting Solution
The project started with a business continuity plan for the New York headquarters and was built around the assumption that the New York operations were completely lost due to a natural or man-made disaster. The contingency plans included manual work-around procedures (maintaining business functions if IT systems are unavailable), data restoration processes, and maintenance and testing procedures. It was later expanded to include emergency response planning and an information technology disaster recovery plan. Finally, it included a “train the trainer” program where Marsh taught the client’s senior personnel how to implement the plans in the event of an emergency so that they could, in turn, train their staff.

Results
The plan developed by Marsh was tested and confirmed by the client for its usability, completeness, and accuracy. As a result of this project, the client is now in compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley and has been able to secure insurance at the desired rate. Most importantly, it now has the in-house capability to quickly respond to a disaster and recover from it.

The Global headquarters is now taking the plan developed for the United States operations and is rolling it out globally.