ICT & Telecoms

Cable&Wireless Worldwide is a global telecoms company, providing managed voice, data, hosting and IP-based services and applications. 6,000 organisations rely on our client’s latest technology and next-generation network to deliver their products and services. Solutions include a multi-service platform, offering customers a single environment for all their telecommunications requirements.

Business continuity is key to the success of Cable&Wireless Worldwide and its customers. The company asked us as a leading technical authority to develop its approach here, so that in the event of a serious incident, it could continue to provide a service wherever possible. This support would help address growing market demands for ever tighter business continuity plans.

“More of our customers were enquiring about our business continuity plans during the bidding process,” explains Dhiru Parmar, Business Continuity Manager at Cable&Wireless Worldwide. “We deal with a wide range of sectors including government and they in particular were beginning to demand compliance and expect certification … Where you would normally expect business continuity to be some way down the list of requirements, it was now third, a clear indicator of the priority now being attached to the issue.”

Our client already had a mature business continuity approach, with a solid framework established. Processes, procedures and people were in place to respond to potentially disruptive situations. The company had a dedicated business continuity team and a management system in line with PAS 56:2003. This was the forerunner to the business continuity management system standard, BS 25999. Our client was ready to formalise its systems even further.

We supported by:

• determining a company-wide scope for the business continuity management system (BCMS) across all UK activities
• verifying where existing processes and plans were up for the job
• reinforcing a risk management culture among key employees
• guiding our client to establish the right solutions for all the standard’s requirements
• assessing and certifying the BCMS to BS 25999.

Having a sound, externally verified business continuity system had brought three significant advantages:

• retaining existing customers
• winning new business
• savings insurance premiums.

“There are many organisations that now ask for information on BCM,” adds Dhiru Parmar. “The standard has now built up enough momentum to be a form of shorthand for organisational resilience.”