British American Tobacco smokes out disaster recovery

Technology implementation ensures 24/7 access to mobile platforms

Disaster recovery software helps British American Tobacco stay connected

British American Tobacco has implemented disaster recovery software to protect its critical applications from downtime.

Senior executives based in the company’s global headquarters in London require on-demand communication, says David Sampson, head of headquarters IT for British American Tobacco.

‘24/7 access to corporate tools, such as email and management platforms, is vital as the company’s executives travel across the world and through many time zones,’ said Sampson.

Most of the firm’s executives are equipped with a RIM BlackBerry to ensure access to up-to-date management information.

The firm tested Neverfail’s disaster recovery software in April 2007 when it conducted electrical maintenance work at its headquarters over a three-day period.
The company reverted its BlackBerry applications to its disaster recovery site in a matter of minutes and back again with equal ease.

Before the implmentation the recovery procedure would have had a significant impact on the company’s IT team’s resources and may have risked a loss of the BlackBerry service.