SunGard, Satyam Prepare for Disaster

By Tim Clark, Wall Street & Technology

In an effort to help companies minimize the risks to business and information technology (IT) operations created by influenza pandemics and other catastrophic events, SunGard Availability Services and Satyam plan to release new solutions aimed at retaining business continuity in times of crisis. Also, to demonstrate some of its capabilities, Satyam completed a three-day mock drill that simulated a disaster in three Indian cities.SunGard's portfolio of Pandemic Response Planning services examine business and IT processes that may be impacted by pandemic-caused staff shortages. They also develop strategies to maintain information availability that help keep staff connected with business information so operations can continue during an avian flu pandemic.

"As we inch closer to a possible avian influenza pandemic now is the time to review and update your organization's contingency and business continuity plans," according to the Gartner note "Scenarios for Avian Influenza and How IT Can Mitigate Risk" by Dion Wiggins, Steve Bittinger and Roberta Witty. "Even if you are skeptical that there will ever be an avian influenza pandemic, the cost of not being prepared far outweighs the effort to plan for such a world-changing event."

On a related note, Satyam mock disaster simulation was successful. Satyam's Global Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Center, located on the outskirts of India, is validated by the Disaster Recovery Institute of Asia, and enables replication between servers in Hyderabad and Singapore. Data stored within both servers is synchronized every four hours.

During the drill, Satyam's Hyderabad-based business continuity team connected to the customers' network and continued business through enhanced bandwidth capabilities. They also ensured immediate availability of a global help desk, replication of mission-critical associates' e-mail boxes, automatic forwarding of transactions to the new server, and availability of business data.

Virender Aggarwal, senior vice president and director at Satyam said the mock disaster drill benefited greatly from the support and proactive engagement of the Singaporean government. "The Economic Development Board, especially, has been a driving force and constant source of support," said Aggarwal, from a release. "Singapore is ideally positioned to benefit from the shift we perceive will take place in the back offices of major global multinational and financial corporations, and Satyam is determined to support and benefit from that shift."