Overview
Overview
Equipment failure can be daunting and cause chaos in businesses’ day-to-day operations. Parlay Data Solutions clients’ require reliable, daily production to keep their businesses running. To us, that translates to a need for robust business continuity oversight and thorough disaster recovery preparedness to ensure adequate service levels even in the case of equipment failure at one of our facilities.
In May 2024, Parlay Data Solutions undertook an initiative to enhance its business disruption recovery protocols for check payment processing. This initiative introduced advanced functional and procedural capabilities aimed at addressing critical vulnerabilities. Key improvements focused on rapid detection of equipment failures and swift resumption of operations to minimize downtime.
Challenges
The primary challenge was to mitigate the risks associated with equipment failures in the primary production workflow. Key objectives included:
- Ensuring minimal or no disruption to our check production and delivery timelines.
- Enhancing the detection mechanisms for equipment failures.
- Streamlining the transition to a secondary processing facility in real-time.
Solution
Solution
Parlay Data Solutions introduced the following enhancements:
Results
Results
The improvements made by Parlay Data Solutions yielded the following benefits:
- Seamless Continuity: Rapid transition to the secondary facility takes only minutes and ensures no delays in production or shipping.
- Enhanced Resilience: The “hot-warm” setup with two production facilities mitigates risks associated with equipment failure.
- Operational Confidence: Parlay Data Solutions and our clients can have confidence that check production will continue, even in the case of equipment failure.
Impact
Impact
In May 2024, a Parlay Data Solutions client visited our processing site for a routine audit. While onsite at the secondary facility, a critical piece of equipment required for check production was temporarily down at the primary facility. Within minutes:
- Production was resumed at the secondary production facility using pre-deployed identical equipment.
- All check production jobs were completed and shipped on time from the secondary facility, ensuring uninterrupted service.
Auditors observed firsthand how the procedural and functional enhancements ensured that the equipment anomaly had no impact on SLA adherence.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Parlay Data Solutions’ proactive approach to business continuity and disaster recovery management significantly enhanced the resilience of our service levels. By ensuring uninterrupted operations even during equipment down time, PDS has set a benchmark for reliability and operational excellence in payment fulfillment services.
This case highlights the importance of continuous improvement and real-world validation in achieving operational resilience, providing a valuable model for similar programs seeking to bolster their disaster recovery capabilities.
