Verizon Business Expands Global Business Continuity Professional Services

Focus Includes Less Commonly Addressed Areas Such as Regulatory Compliance, Training, Staff Awareness

BASKING RIDGE, N.J., July 30 -- Verizon Business is expanding its already broad portfolio of business continuity professional services to address gaps commonly found in existing continuity programs.

The new consulting services - immediately available in the U.S., as well as countries in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region - focus on business applications, regulatory compliance, training and awareness, and testing. The services, unveiled Thursday (July 30), are:

  --  Application Infrastructure Deployment Review - Assessment of current
      application and infrastructure deployment to determine if the
      deployment --  including the application and operating system, as well
      as patching -- is up to date.
  --  Business Continuity Compliance - Review of existing business
      continuity strategy to determine whether it meets compliance
      requirements; identification of gaps.
  --  Business Continuity/Disaster Recovery Testing Support - Development of
      strategy and plans for business continuity testing.

  --  Business Continuity/Disaster Recovery Training - Provision of customer
      training encompassing all aspects of business continuity and disaster
      recovery strategies and disciplines.

(Note: An audio podcast highlighting Verizon Business' new business continuity professional services is also available.)

Verizon Business' new capabilities - available individually or in multiple-engagement bundles - are ideal for enterprises of all sizes and across all vertical markets, including financial services, health care, retail and manufacturing. To address continuous testing, improvement and training, Verizon Business offers its business continuity professional services on an annual, quarterly or monthly subscription basis.

Verizon Business consultants meet with key stakeholders to gain important insights into current capabilities and critical business issues, enabling organizations to identify and measure higher-impact risks and concentrate on the systems necessary to maintain critical operations and activities. From there, a plan containing key findings and recommendations is developed and delivered to the organization for continued discussion and implementation.

According to Forrester Research Inc., a leading independent research firm, training, awareness and communication are critical components of a successful business continuity plan. A recent global survey of decision makers who invoked a business continuity plan found that 50 percent of respondents noted that company training and awareness efforts were insufficient.(1)

In addition, 49 percent noted that business continuity plans did not adequately address internal communication and collaboration. Forrester also found that many enterprises are moving from manual procedures to automated processes to enable their global business continuity programs.

"Globalization, round-the-clock service delivery and ongoing operational risks caused by natural and man-made events, including natural disasters, pandemics and online security threats, continue to drive strong business continuity adoption," said Kerry Bailey, senior vice president - global services, Verizon Business. "Our newly expanded suite of global business continuity professional services helps enterprises take the guesswork out of designing, deploying and managing comprehensive, yet flexible, business continuity programs."

Business Continuity Capabilities Provide Critical Support to Enterprises

The new professional services capabilities are part of Verizon Business' comprehensive portfolio of business continuity consulting services, which include business impact and risk analyses, network assessments, gap analyses and recovery strategies, as well as plan development, implementation and life-cycle management services. The company offers complementary security, IT, networking and communications professional services to help enterprises develop cohesive, enterprisewide continuity programs.

Also included in the business continuity suite is virtual file-sharing, storage replication and restoration services and a full complement of managed information technology services to help enhance enterprise resilience. For example, the company offers Verizon Notification Services to help enterprises, such as universities and manufacturers, automate the delivery of time-sensitive information via cell phone, pager, fax or home phone.

Verizon Business also helps companies maintain effective communications during business-impacting events through its advanced conferencing, collaboration and contact center capabilities.

In June 2008, Verizon Business was accepted into the BSI Management Systems-Associate Consultant Program (BSI-ACP) for BS 25999, a global standard for business continuity management. Verizon Business is the only North American-based global communications provider to receive such recognition from the world's leading international standards, testing, registration and certification organization.

Verizon Business also provides a complementary set of managed services, managing 270,000-plus security, network and hosting devices across more than 4,000 customer networks spanning 142 countries and territories. The company's global infrastructure, the most connected public IP network in the world, provides a solid foundation from which to serve multinational corporations and government agencies.

Added Bailey: "Coupled with our broad portfolio of advanced networking, communications and IT solutions, Verizon Business is well-positioned to meet the business continuity requirements of enterprises around the globe by enabling effective communications with customers, partners and employees during unforeseen, business-impacting events."

About Verizon Business

Verizon Business, a unit of Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) , is a global leader in communications and IT solutions. We combine professional expertise with the world's most connected IP network to deliver award-winning communications, IT, information security and network solutions. We securely connect today's extended enterprises of widespread and mobile customers, partners, suppliers and employees - enabling them to increase productivity and efficiency and help preserve the environment. Many of the world's largest businesses and governments - including 96 percent of the Fortune 1000 and thousands of government agencies and educational institutions - rely on our professional and managed services and network technologies to accelerate their business. Find out more at www.verizonbusiness.com.

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(1) "Business Continuity Management People and Communications Trends," from "Forrester/Disaster Recovery Journal Business Continuity Preparedness Survey, Q4 2008," Forrester Research, Inc., July 21, 2009.