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Continuity Insights Management Conference

By Maya Calabrese and Andy Waples, Eaton Vance Management:

From developing the strategy to setting the scope to assessing internal resources and planning the implementation and rollout, there are countless essential steps when it comes to implementing a mobile solution.

Our recent and ongoing experiences with the adoption of a BCP mobile app – weighing the costs and benefits, determining the prerequisites, etc. as we began implementing our BCP mobile solution – also included the discovery of several unforeseen “gotchas” along the way, some of which we have been able to work around and others we have just had to deal with. We want to share it all: the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Our Story1

We first began our mobile app adoption in 2015. As we put together our project plan to scope the depth and breadth of the project, we initially focused on what we wanted the app to be (and not be). We decided that we wanted to use the app as a one-stop shop for all things Business Continuity, Disaster Recovery, and Crisis Management. That may not be the best fit for all firms – you have to decide whether you want the bare minimum, a medium amount, or all of your information stored in the app.

The next year and a half we spent our time mapping and validating our data – from plan structure within the application, to who should see what content, to the integration of our internal contact lists. Once we got to a place that we felt comfortable (enough), we began to permission small subsets of employees to both Crisis Management, IT/DR, and BC plans for app and plan validation, which we termed our “soft rollout.”

In the fall of 2017, two years after our initial app onboarding, we pushed the app out to the larger employee audience through an email message and intranet banner. Adoption was initially slow and we quickly learned what it was to be the “help desk” of an app. But overall, the app has received positive feedback (from those who chose to download it).

Today, roughly 25% of our employee population have downloaded the mobile app and the content along with it. We continue to make adjustments and improvements based on user feedback and our own regular use of the app. Our goal this year is to increase the adoption rate to 50%, with a two-year plan of 75%.

The question that we often get is “do you actually use the app?” Yes, we do. As well as storing all of our Business Continuity Plans, we also store all of our IT and Crisis Management run-books within the app, granting access to our respective Crisis Management teams with the click of a finger. Detailed Crisis Event Guides, step-by-step crisis communications, and actionable contact lists all reside on our users’ mobile devices. We continually reinforce the use of the app across the CMT and other related recovery teams through tabletop exercises and actual events by asking “What is the first thing you should do right now? Yes, open your mobile app.”

Important Information and Disclosure

This material and discussion is general in nature and presented for informational and illustrative purposes only as the views and opinions of Maya Calabrese, AVP, Senior Business Continuity Analyst and Andy Waples, VP, Director of IT Infrastructure of Eaton Vance Management as of the date hereof and not necessarily those of Eaton Vance as a firm. It should not be construed as advice or a recommendation to adopt or implement any specific business continuity program. This material has been prepared for this conference and may not be distributed, copied or used for any other purpose.

This material has been prepared on the basis of publicly available information, internally developed data and other third party sources believed to be reliable. However, no assurances are provided regarding the reliability of such information and Eaton Vance has not sought to independently verify information taken from public and third party sources.

Any opinions, analyses and views expressed constitute judgments as of the date of this presentation and are subject to change at any time without notice. Different opinions and analyses may be expressed based on different business models, objectives, views or philosophies. It should not be assumed that any suggestions or experiences were or will be successful in the future.

Investing entails risks and there can be no assurance that Eaton Vance, or its affiliates, will achieve profits or avoid incurring losses. 

©Eaton Vance Management. All rights reserved. Eaton Vance (www.eatonvance.com/) open-end mutual funds are offered through Eaton Vance Distributors, Inc. Two International Place, Boston, MA 02110.

 

 

Continuity Insights

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