Case Studies

What if? That was the question that caused First National Bank of Manchester to implement a data processing recovery plan in preparation for Y2K. Because this century-old institution is committed to providing services its customers can count on. And clearly, they do. A mainstay in Manchester for over 100 years, First National is the largest community bank in town and is still going strong.

That strength has just been fortified by a plan that answers more "what if" questions. Jack Henry & Associates' Centurion™ Disaster Recovery Division recently completed a business recovery plan that moves beyond data processing into all key functional areas of bank operations.

The Need for a New Plan
Carla Clay, Vice President and Cashier at First National Bank, realized that having a data processing plan alone wasn't sufficient. "I knew we had some holes in our recovery plan," she relates, "and we wanted to be able to conduct better testing." Not to mention the fact that examiners had had some questions in the past. Now, First National's sister institution, the Bank of Waynesboro, was having similar issues. It was time for both banks to update their recovery plans.

As fate would have it, Clay was attending a seminar in the fall of 2000, and discovered Centurion. The philosophy of this Jack Henry division was akin to what Clay and other decision makers at the two sister banks were coming to learn. "Centurion stressed the fact that it was important to change the way bankers had thought about disaster recovery for so many years," says Clay. "It's not just about data processing anymore, but corporate-wide business recovery." Centurion's approach made sense.

Centurion Selected to Undertake Project
Doing business with Centurion was attractive to Clay for a very practical and important reason. "Bankers don't have the time it takes to plan and process and document all the things that go into business recovery that the examiners want," she emphasizes. And as an existing Jack Henry customer, it seemed the wisest decision was to engage the services of the trusted vendor's disaster recovery division.

A contract was signed to implement a business recovery plan at both First National Bank of Manchester and the nearby Bank of Waynesboro. This plan also included testing data at an off-site location. But first, Centurion representatives would go about the all important business of information gathering.

"Centurion has the processes down to the least burdensome it can be on the bank. They were all very productive. It didn't take that much of my time, even with they were here."
Carla Clay
Vice President and Cashier
First National Bank of Manchester

Putting it All Together
Centurion conducted in-depth interviews with key personnel of all bank departments. This included filling out worksheets with detailed descriptions of all the elements involved in the day-to-day job of each of these employees - the functions of the job itself as well as supplies necessary to conduct business.

Once that information was compiled, Centurion built a recovery plan around it, complete with procedures, tasks and the best people identified to carry them out. Training sessions were held to inform people in each department of the policies and how they could implement them. "Centurion did a great job," Clay asserts. "They were very thorough and very professional."

Because time is such a valuable commodity, it was important to Clay that she and her staff be able to continue to focus on their duties during this process. After all, that's one of the primary reasons First National Bank brought someone in from the outside. She is happy to report, "Centurion has the processes down to the least burdensome it can be on the bank. They were all very productive. It didn't take that much of my time, even with they were here."

The Value of Information
While on site, one of the tasks performed by the Centurion representative was to assess each bank in terms of risk category. Thankfully, no one is expecting any hurricanes to blow through Tennessee and destroy the facilities. Yet there are many "fringe" benefits, so to speak, resulting from the steps taken to implement a business recovery plan.

The information extracted from the various departments has given employees a broader picture of bank operations. Individuals have learned about departmental functions outside their own. In essence, Centurion created job descriptions from the information gleaned from bank personnel. "If something were to happen and we needed to know a person's departmental function, we now have it," explains Clay.

She is equally impressed by the convenience the process has brought her. Databases were created, listing valuable supplier and contact information. "It's like having a bank-wide Rolodex of all the contacts that everybody uses," she exudes.

An Unexpected Test
When the day arrived for the first off-site test, Centurion faced a test of another kind. That day was September 11, 2001. Clay was not present for the data recovery test at the Allen, Texas hot site. But in light of the crisis unfolding in the nation, she was most anxious to see how Centurion would handle the job at hand. To her delight, everything proceeded without a hitch. "If Centurion could conduct a test on that day of all days," says Clay, "I'm confident they can do it anytime."

The test served its purpose, alerting First National Bank to a minor issue relating to the ATM system, which needed to be addressed by that vendor. However, according to Clay, "The main concern is that you don't want to lose what happened yesterday. In that regard, Centurion's performance was great."

These offsite tests will be conducted once a year, unless the bank makes a major software change. In terms of business recovery policies, First National can maintain and update them itself or contract Centurion on an annual basis.

Prepared for Anything
Initial data testing for the Bank of Waynesboro was also successful, as was the entire implementation of a business recovery plan. Now, both banks can meet examiners with answers to any questions and requirements they may have - which, after the events of September 11th, may be more stringent than ever. "Examiners like to see mounds and mounds of paper," shares Clay. "Centurion produced it for them."

"Centurion has all the bases [of business recovery] completely covered." - Carla Clay

Thanks to Centurion, those at First National Bank now possess an invaluable commodity - peace of mind. "People assume nothing will ever happen to them," Clay reflects. "But it's possible. It puts an entirely new perspective on business recovery. Centurion has all the bases completely covered."

By Marsha Cansler