Business Continuity Solution Briefing Document

Owned by Kasia Czwarkiel (Unlicensed)
Last updated: May 24, 2017

Introduction

The Claritum Business Continuity Solution is a system designed to provide a Claritum Customer with continuity of service in the event that Claritum ceases trading.
This document aims to describe the functionality of the various solution levels.


Overview

The Claritum Business Continuity Solution offers two levels of protection depending on client requirements.

1. Claritum Continuity Level 1
The basic solution, implemented via the NCC's Code ESCROW service with an annual deposit of Claritum System code only.

2. Claritum Continuity Level 2
The complete continuity solution providing a live 'mirror' of the Claritum System and allowing for simple and immediate 'switchover' with no provisioning of additional hardware or software.


Comparison of Continuity Level Features


Level 1Level 2
Annual code ESCROW

Weekly code ESCROW

Weekly Data

'Live' code, data and datafiles*

Server already provisioned

Server already configured

Claritum System Software already installed

Database + data files installed

Quarterly validation of continuity service

No changes to user login

Immediate recovery**

No IT expertise required

* Database data is mirrored in real-time but code and datafiles are synchronised nightly.

** Subject to the speed of the internet DNS updates around the world. Some users will experience immediate change whilst others may take up to 24 hours.


Claritum Continuity Level 1

This is the base level of continuity available and is implemented via the NCC's code ESCROW service.

Each year, Claritum make a deposit with the NCC of the Claritum System Code at that point in time.  No data is part of the deposit.

Continuity 'Hand Over'

In the event of Claritum ceasing to exist, the code is released to the client who is then entitled to install the software on their own servers and continue the service themselves.

The client would have their own (or access to) IT expertise in installing such systems (i.e. configuring web hosting servers, operating systems and web server software as well as the Claritum System Software itself) and would have made their own provisions for continuity of their data

IMPORTANT: ESCROW provides a basic level of business continuity, however, clients should be aware of its limitations. Under an ESCROW agreement, Claritum lodge source code and/or data with a 3rd party ESCROW provider on an agreed basis e.g. monthly, quarterly or annually. The ESCROW securely stores the code and usually provides optional additional services such as code verification and enhanced security. In a Business Continuity event (e.g. Claritum ceases trading), the ESCROW provider releases the code and/or data to the Client.

It is the Client’s responsibility to provide suitable hardware, operating systems and infrastructure to set up and run the Claritum environment. For most businesses, this will result in considerable additional down-time, hosting costs and the requirement for suitably qualified resources to manage the environment. We therefore, no longer recommend ESCROW as a viable business continuity solution.

Claritum have partnered with NCC to provide ESCROW services to clients.

Claritum Continuity Level 2

This is the complete Continuity Solution and is essentially a web server containing a 'live' backup of all software and data on the Claritum System and hosted by an independent 3rd-party on a different network to that of the Claritum System.  This is referred to as the 'Continuity Server'

The client would access the Claritum System using a different web address to that which they would normally use, e.g. instead of 'clientname.claritum.com' they would use 'system.clientname.com'.

This 'domain name' would be under the client's complete control and would, under normal conditions, point to the Claritum System on Claritum's standard infrastructure.

In the event that Claritum ceased trading, the client would be able to switch their 'system.clientname.com' address to point to their Continuity Server and continue operations from where the Claritum System had stopped.

The 'keys' to the Continuity Server system itself would be held by an independent 3rd-party.  These are only required to gain access to the system for code and server maintenance and would be released to the client by the 3rd-party in the event Claritum ceased to exist.

It is worth noting that the Continuity Server is not a directly comparable system, in terms of performance, as the Claritum System itself so some users may experience a degradation of performance in the event of a switch-over to the Business Continuity Solution, however, it does provide continuity of service while the Continuity Server is being scaled-up to meet the specific demands of the customer's userbase.

Hosting

The Continuity Server is hosted by an independent hosting provider and the billing arrangement would be between the provider and the client directly. This ensures complete continuity of hosting in the event of Claritum ceasing to exist.

Setup

The initial setup and configuration of the Business Continuity Server is performed by Claritum and subject to a one-time setup fee.

This would include:

  • Provisioning the hosting environment.
  • Installing and configuring the Continuity Server software.
  • Configuring the Claritum System to provide data feeds to the Continuity Server.

Continuous Backup

Once the setup has completed, the Continuity Server is continuously updated with a constant stream of updates from the Claritum System's database.  This contains all of the jobbags, customers, purchase orders, suppliers, transactions, etc.  In short, every piece of data changed within the Claritum System database is echoed into the Continuity Server database.  So it is never out of date.  This is known as 'database mirroring'.
In the event of any network error, the Claritum System will automatically 'queue' the mirrored data until it can regain contact with the Continuity Server.  It will then bring the Continuity Server up to date.
The Claritum System Software code and file attachments uploaded to the jobbags are not 'mirrored' in real time in the same way as the database but they are synchronised nightly.

Monitoring

The Continuity Server monitors its own status and sends daily status alerts via email to nominated contacts at the client.
In addition, a 'front panel' web page is accessible to the client at any time.  This details the status of individual components within the Continuity Server as well as providing controls to switch the server from 'standby' mode (i.e. receiving data from the Claritum System) to 'enabled' mode (running as a replacement to the Claritum System).

Validation and Maintenance

Every quarter, Claritum will run the Continuity Server through a series of standard tests to ensure it is operating as expected.
This includes:
  • Review of current resource utilisation on the Continuity Server.
  • Testing the 'switch over' to running the Continuity Server as a replacement to the Claritum System
  • Testing the switch back to 'standby' mode.
  • Review of the Continuity Server system logs to identify potential problems.
A report of the results of the testing is produced and sent to the client.
Any required maintenance is also done during this period and a summary included in the report.

Continuity 'Handover'

In the event that Claritum ceases to exist, the following steps are actioned:
  1. Client is notified that Claritum has ceased trading.
  2. Claritum System stops running.
  3. Client notifies the hosting provider asking them to re-point the 'system.clientname.com' address to the Continuity Server.
  4. Service resumes as normal.
  5. Client contacts the 3rd-party holding the Continuity Server 'keys'.
Please note:
  • For some users, it may take 24 hours for the re-pointing of the address to take effect.

Ongoing Support and Maintenance

Following the continuity handover (i.e. Claritum has ceased to exist), the client contacts the 3rd-party holding the Continuity System 'keys'.  This is simply a CD with passwords allowing system's administrator access to the Continuity Server and is required to gain access to the Claritum System Software running on the Continuity Server.
This allows the client to continue maintenance of the Claritum System running on the Continuity Server.

Licensing

For each of the 2 levels of continuity service, the continuity agreement provides the customer (in the event of Claritum ceasing to exist) with the right to deploy and run the Claritum System on their own server or collection of servers and the right to maintain the software on a ongoing basis.
The customer would also have the right to extend the capabilities of the system software with their own modifications and would retain all intellectual property rights over those code modifications but would not have any intellectual property rights over the Claritum System Software itself.
The customer would have no rights to resell the Claritum System Software.