Client press release: Reflex delivers a business continuity solution for the mid-market

Reflex has built a 20 seat business continuity centre to provide customers the security of knowing they can continue working, even in the face of calamity.

Virtually every organisation, whatever its size, relies extensively on its IT to do business in the modern world. However, unlike large corporations, many smaller and medium sized businesses do not have the ability to continue to work unhindered should a disaster befall them. Despite their obvious importance, business continuity and disaster recovery are issues that do not always feature on these organisations’ radars. This, says Reflex Solutions, need no longer be the case.

According to Reflex MD, Greg Wilson, the company fully understands the critical need for such a disaster recovery service in the small and medium market segment. After all, business continuity in this sector can really mean the difference between a company living and dying. This is why Reflex has built a 20-seat business continuity centre on its premises, says Wilson, as this gives its customers the security of knowing they can continue working, even in the face of calamity.

“Reflex has created what is effectively a boutique disaster recovery service, which offers customers both security and
flexibility. Our centre has all the necessary infrastructure to provide a complete business continuity service, including data centres, generators and uninterrupted power supply,” he says.

“Moreover, because this service is targeted in the main at our existing customers, the equipment is similar to that which they normally use. This means that in the event of a disaster, time is not wasted getting the staff running your critical applications up to speed on unfamiliar equipment.

The critical applications that clients would most likely use the centre for, says Wilson, are sales-based or distribution contact centre environments. For example, he says one customer that has recently signed up for the service is a medium sized financial institution, which will use the centre for its fraud hotline.

“Generally speaking, clients would buy four to five seats in the centre on a syndicated basis, meaning that our solution can cater for multiple clients. We offer a prioritised service based on the contract signed, so even in the event of a disaster that impacted many businesses, we would still be able to fit multiple clients into the centre. Of course, when you syndicate seats you are lowering risk rather than removing it. To eliminate risk completely requires a
dedicated solution, which is much more expensive.”

“Reflex also offers our clients business continuity combined with disaster recovery, so there is no need for separate strategies for these two crucial elements. We are able to use the same backup server for both, which results in cost savings for the client,” says Wilson.

Disaster recovery is required when a non-routine event disrupts business operations and the company’s critical information needs to be recovered from a back-up facility. Business continuity, on the other hand, is what is required for an organisation’s business-critical operations in the event that the normal office is made untenable. Whether this is caused by a rolling electricity blackout or the office burning down, a business continuity solution enables a company to place its most vital operations at another site, thereby maintaining a business-as-usual feel for its customers.

Wilson points out that in addition to using the centre in the event of a disaster, customers can also utilise it for downtime tests, or even in a situation where their own office is undergoing renovations. He adds that it could also be used in those instances where clients are running a campaign that requires additional contact centre seats on a temporary basis.

“With the ever present threat of companies having to face up to possible rolling blackouts from the power provider, the centre may also prove useful as a means of keeping critical applications operational during such a period. Furthermore, the fact that Reflex’s offices are centrally located means that it is a simple and painless exercise for companies to move staff over to the centre when needed.”

“The launch of this business continuity centre is just another link in the Reflex service chain. Our goal has always been to deliver a full end-to-end IT offering to our customer base. By adding this centre into our value chain, we can now enable our customers to compete on an equal footing with enterprise level organisations. Reflex is proud of the fact that we are able to provide our customers with a customised IT solution that can be structured for businesses of all sizes,” concludes Wilson.

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