Information Security Group

MOU (Memorandum of Understanding)

Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is an internal operational level agreement between internal support providing teams for recovery enablement and meeting business needs. This is a vital and essential preparedness to ensure business resilience.

Business continuity is enabled through the documented and tested continuity plan. In order to be successful in testing as well as recovery there is a need for an integrated Memorandum of Understanding amongst teams within the organization. Resilience is a journey which is achieved through partnerships.
Vital records are important information dependencies of the business continuity plan without which the business continuity plan cannot be tested nor be executed seamlessly.
Testing ensures that vital records retrieval, content of the data in the vital record as well as the support is adequately available.
The goal of the delivery unit / function / service is to meet the Recovery time objective (RTO, Recovery point objective (RPO) and the minimum operating level (MOL).

[A] The MOU and Vital Record Flow

The flow chart provides an insight into simple activities essential. The Project / Function Manager or the nominated BCP/DR Rep for the Project / Function responds to the Forms Survey and uploads the templates.
An engagement with the respective Corporate Services or the Technical Infrastructure / CIO team SME or Rep enables the project / function to provide Inputs required for recovery, testing.
The repository is maintained as an ongoing activity by the Project / Function Manager or the nominated BCP/DR Rep

[B] Which are the important MOU’s ?

Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is catered by the major groups - Corporate Services and Technical Infrastructure Management Group.

[C] MOU : Facilities and Corporate Services

Corporate Services supports the facilities, recovery seats in alternate buildings, cities, transportation, lodging and boarding services through their suppliers and agencies.

In order that you can seek support it is essential that you plan for the same and follow the requisition -> budget , approval, provisioning -> service delivery process as directed by the Location / Global Facilities & Corporate Services teams

[D] MOU : Technical Infrastructure Management / CIO Teams for IT Services

The ICT/DR flow picturized below provides an insight to the documentation essential.
After the documentation and details are captured TIM / CIO shall provide an insight into the requirements for support teams in case of a disruption as well as testing needs.
Delivery units, Functions can choose options of mitigating the requirements in terms of cost, availability targets agreed in terms of Recovery Time Objectives and Recovery Point Objectives

Technical infrastructure Management Services provides support for IT Needs, Support with respect to corporate technical infrastructure and service desk services.
In order that you can seek support for project / function specific requirements the various ITIL and Service Templates are required to be updated.
Thereafter it is essential that you plan for the same with the location TIM representative along with the SME for special services and support.
It is important to follow the approval and requisition process as per the direction of the technical infrastructure management team / CIO Reps engaging with you.
This is important so that you are proactively informing and keeping the Technical Infrastructure Management / CIO team of your requirements during testing / recovery.
In case there are commercial conversations the project needs to have to ascertain the cost of the arrangements and alternatives the MOU process will help you be prepared with alternatives as options for recovery and availability.

[E] Lighthouse Continuity Plan Vital Records

A business continuity plan is complete only when the Vital records required for recovery are readily accessible and available on the day of the crisis.

Hence vital records repository is an essential asset required when business is disrupted, and recovery plans are activated.

[F] The project manager / function manager is enabled to achieve the following as below.

A clear list of direct, indirect dependencies and support requirements for recovery.
A list of items to be checked and tested in the business recovery exercise for an end-to-end recovery capability view.
A capability to exhibit to assessors, customers around readiness knowledge and implementation.
An ability for the team members to know the dependencies and know who supports in case of a disruption.
Rises capability to attain operational resilience and contributes to organizational resilience.

[G] Form Navigation and Data Capture Steps

The Global Business Continuity Team will educate as well as share the Help Aid and necessary navigation directions to enable a smooth BE READY action.
Project Managers, Function Managers must provide their input and complete the MOU, Vital Record Information Repository.
Additional questions and support shall be resolved by the Global Business Continuity Representative on a case-to-case basis.
Mechanized methods through integrated batch processing will progressively update the Vital Record and MOU form link in the continuity of business plan hosted in Lighthouse. This shall be an independent process as a support to service line and functions.
The Project manager / Function manager must ensure that required forms of all the projects ( be it primary or secondary as per the requirements) / function/s managed must be included.
The MOU / forms are aligned to the project / function manager. This ensures that there is no double work for the project / function manager to insert / input multiple entries in the check point survey place holders. This also ensures that the MOU for all projects is discussed as an overall project manager accountable activity in the meeting across all owned important activities with the internal service providing teams.
Project / Function manager must save the survey form when prompted in order to be able to update corrected versions of the templates continuously. This helps reducing efforts.

[H] Note for Inputs & Transition across Roles

Project Managers as well as Function Managers, BCP/DR Reps, Location BCP Reps, Function BCP Reps can utilize this feature and store Vital Records, MOU input information.
Please ensure that when you transition from your role you also transition the vital records and MOUs signed as a succession and hand over process.