Vodafone UK

Summary

Working with BSI Management Systems, the global leader in management systems certification, Vodafone UK, the UK’s largest mobile phone network provider has achieved the new standard for business continuity management, BS 25999. "For Vodafone UK to achieve certification to BS 25999 for a core part of its business in less than a year from publication of the standard is a significant achievement," says Rob Wallis, Managing Director of BSI Management Systems UK. "It also demonstrates a commitment to offering stakeholders a robust and resilient service."

Background

Vodafone UK employs over 10,000 people, has 18.5 million customers and its network covers 99% of the UK population.

Drivers

Vodafone UK has a long history of active engagement in standards and regards itself as a leader in taking on board best practice in emerging areas. Business Continuity Management (BCM) has always been a part of their culture. PAS56 (the pre-standard to BS 25999) was written into its policy documents from 2003 and Vodafone UK was keen to review the new BCM code of practice to see how it could be applied to the organisation.

The main driver for Vodafone UK’s adoption of the BS 25999 standard was to differentiate its service and provide tangible evidence of the efforts the company took to mitigate service disruption. It was decided efforts should focus on the 2G voice network and the people that maintain and manage it, as this infrastructure plays a central role in the provision of voice services for Vodafone UK’s customers. It also provides back up services for 3G voice customers.

Vodafone UK is highly aware of the fact mobile phones are an important part of many customers’ BCM processes and that was another driver for achieving certification. It is vital that Vodafone UK provides ‘business as usual’ support for customers at these times and meeting the standard would help them provide this reassurance. The nature of Vodafone UK’s nationwide operations is such that BC plans form an integral part of its operations., prioritising according to either the number of people affected or the amount of traffic on that part of the network; so these plans have to be very robust. Roger McLoughlin, Continuity & Risk Assurance Specialist, Vodafone UK says "Certification to this standard provides unequivocal proof that we are taking the appropriate measures to mitigate network downtime and ensure that the service is there for our customers when they may need it the most."

What was involved?

After establishing how the standard could be applied to the business, Vodafone UK undertook a self-assessment and gap analysis of its business continuity processes around the 2G network. Identifying this specific scope gave the project team a clear focus for its efforts. New Business Continuity Management System (BCMS) documentation was developed to support the certification process, enhancing information sharing around business continuity issues for both the team tasked with implementing the standard and those outside this group who would also need to be involved. This process galvanised efforts, providing a clear communications channel between the relatively small network management team and the much wider group of supporting individuals.

Benefits

Vodafone UK is the world’s first mobile operator to achieve BS 25999 certification, which says a great deal about Vodafone UK and its efforts to provide customers with the most stable network possible. The benefits of certification include:

• Enabling Vodafone UK to differentiate its services from the competition
• Implementing processes and systems to ensure it is aligned with the business and drive change
• Supporting Vodafone UK’s legal and civil contingencies requirements
• Giving guidance to suppliers on the BCM systems operated by Vodafone UK, strengthening the supply chain
• Publicising the certification to existing and prospective enterprise and Government customers
• Saving on time taken to respond to queries from customers about how BCM was undertaken by Vodafone, the rationale being that once Vodafone was certified no one need ask
• Providing advice to customers on implementing BCM systems

BS 25999-1:2006 Business Continuity Management. Code of Practice

BS 25999-2:2007 Business Continuity Management. Specification