Work Area Recovery
ITSS
The Challenge
When you’re a managed care organization (MCO), you understand better than most that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. This company, which provided health care access to more than 263,000 members, was located in one of the city’s tallest structures. Although operating in such a consolidated fashion presented efficiencies, it also presented significant business risks.
The company knew it needed to establish a recovery data center – one that was easily accessible to its workforce in case of emergencies.
They got the healthy dose of help they needed from the Information Technology Systems and Services (ITSS) division at MSA.
What Did MSA Do
We partnered with this MCO on two solutions – a robust hosting relationship for an active mirror data center and a workforce recovery solution for call center agents who are unable to work from home or other alternative locations.
The Data Center
- Data storage
- Over 75 virtualized systems
- Telecommunication services including voicemail call accounting and call recording
- Internet
- Private network connectivity
The client also conducts at least four emergency exercises each year. These tests are performed remotely with no impact to its operations. In fact, its personnel can remotely manage its systems at the RockPointe facility to the power outlet.
Workforce recovery solution
The client maintains a workforce recovery solution based at our Penn Avenue facility. The arrangement services up to 150 call center agents. These seats are used during a business disruption as an alternative for staff who are unable to work remotely. The client maintains connectivity for over half of the company.
- Generic desktop setup within 24 hours
- Generic VOIP phone service that is leveraged by the client to access its voice platforms. Calls are redirected to this service, eliminating the need to change access numbers and methods.
The Results
- Seamless Telecommunications Failover: Enabled uninterrupted operations by automatically failing over services through MSA’s RockPointe facility during a prolonged vendor outage.
- Operational Continuity During Vendor Failure: Ensured the MCO maintained full functionality while the primary telecommunications provider resolved the issue.
- Risk Mitigation & Disaster Prevention: Prevented what could have been a major service disruption by maintaining stable, reliable connectivity.
- Extended Remediation Support: Provided the vendor with additional time to diagnose and fix the failure without impacting client operations.
- Proven Business Continuity in High-Impact Events: Successfully activated Business Continuity plans during the 2009 G20 Summit when on-site operations were restricted.
- Remote Workforce Enablement & SLA Performance: Supported a majority remote workforce while meeting—and in some cases exceeding—service level agreements.


