Evertec: The importance of a business continuity plan
A company or a merchant always has the objective to generate revenue, but more than this economic motivation, it is their responsibility to society and to their employees to provide continuous business operations. For these reasons, nowadays no business can afford to suffer a business interruption.
But, knowing that there are multiple reasons that can affect a business, how can you prepare for any event that can impact your business? The critical step is to have a business continuity plan and a partner that support you in the execution of this plan.
A good continuity plan can help your business continue operating despite an energy interruption, an information technology system crash, a natural disaster, or supply chain problems, among other possible issues.
Evertec offers you the continuity services you need for your business. When you acquire this service, not only will we protect your business applications in case of an unexpected interruption, we can provide you with a disaster recovery center, so you can continue operating in case a disaster impacts your place of operations.
We will share with you the stories of three companies that continued operating immediately after Hurricane María hit Puerto Rico, because they had Evertec Business Continuity services. These companies used our Disaster Recovery Center (DRC), where they enjoyed the comfort of air-conditioned offices, access to computers, internet and telecom, as well as the personalized support of our technical staff.
Hyundai
Hyundai personnel were stationed at Evertec DRC for approximately three months, the period that it took to rebuild their offices. While they were operating from Evertec, they continued to use their information and key applications, such as SAP.
Hyundai employees were well cared for and their information was secure, which allowed their management to focus in dealing with other challenges they had to resolve to restart operation from their offices.
Metropistas
Metropistas needed to initiate operations quickly after the hurricane to meet the deadline for presenting their third quarter financial results. They moved their financial staff to Evertec DRC, in which they accessed the necessary information to prepare the financial statements and close the quarter successfully. With Evertec’s support, Metropistas achieved the goals of its parent company and met its deadlines.
Econo
Econo handles approximately 48 percent of the food market in Puerto Rico. Their key challenge was to initiate operations immediately after the hurricane to supply food to all their stores. Evertec personnel oversaw all Econo’s technological needs, which allowed Econo’s management to focus in trying to resolve the food crisis that Puerto Rico faced at that moment.
Without Evertec’s support, it would have taken Econo two to three weeks to reestablish their operations and supply their stores.
As part of their services, Evertec also helped Econo with their stores’ technological needs, by offering them services such as satellite internet. This helped Econo reestablish communication between their stores and headquarters, which was critical to maintain food supply on the island.
These three company stories highlight that even amid the chaos that Puerto Rico experienced after the hurricanes, these company’s employees had a safe place to work, with technology support, and a committed team at their service.
Their business continuity plan with Evertec allowed them to focus on how to help their companies to stand up, while they were helping Puerto Rico get back on its feet.
