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Sungard Availability Services to open new London workplace recovery centre
New facility expected to be operational in January 2015.

Microsoft acquires business continuity company
Microsoft buys InMage, an innovator in the emerging area of cloud-based business continuity.

Internet Solutions acquires ContinuitySA
South Africa-based business continuity company gains new owners.

Phoenix IT announces new three year strategy
Strategy announcement made alongside annual results report.

Gartner publishes Magic Quadrant for US Emergency/Mass Notification Services
Gartner has issued a new Magic Quadrant document which focuses on enterprise-level US Emergency/Mass Notification Services offerings, and ranks 11 of the most competitive vendors.

The Strohl name returns to the business continuity market
Strohl Systems was acquired by SunGard in 2008: now the Strohl name is back as FI Compliance Solutions changes its name to Strohl Risk Solutions.

Datto launches ‘Business Continuity Built From the Ground Up’
Claims to be the first channel vendor to build a hardware and cloud solution specifically for the business continuity market..

Report claims that the recovery-as-a-service market will be worth $5.7 billion by 2018
Growth from $640.8 million in 2013.

Business continuity veteran launches new BCM consultancy
Easy BCM: doing exactly what it says on the tin.

Neverfail sold to Artisan Infrastructure
Artisan Infrastructure’s founder and CEO becomes the CEO of the Neverfail Group.

BCI named ‘Most Respected Training Resource’ at the 2014 Business Excellence Awards
The Business Continuity Institute has been presented with a prestigious business award.

DRI International announces new Executive Director
DRI International has promoted Chloe Demrovsky to Executive Director.

Regester Larkin acquires Steelhenge
Crisis, issues and reputation management consultancy, Regester Larkin (RL) has announced that it is to acquire crisis management and business continuity specialist Steelhenge Consulting.

Sungard Availability Services goes it alone
Sungard Availability Services splits-off from SunGard Data Systems.

Everbridge acquires Vocal
Everbridge, the emergency notification solutions provider, has acquired Vocal, one of its UK-based competitors.

Phoenix achieves ISO 22301 certification
Phoenix has enhanced its BCMS by becoming one of the first UK companies to achieve certification to the new international business continuity standard ISO 22301.

LATEST BRIEFINGS

Phoenix IT Group issues Year-End Trading Update
Phoenix IT Group plc has provided an update on trading for the financial year ended 31 March 2015. During the past six months, the Group has seen good trading across the business. The Group therefore continues to expect to report profits that are comfortably in line with market expectations. Once again strong progress has been made in reducing the net debt position, which stood at £49.0m at the year-end (2014: £56.1m), ahead of the Board’s expectations.

The Group expects to announce results for the year ended 31st March 2015 on Monday 8th June.

Within Business Continuity, Phoenix IT Group has agreed a five year contract with Shop Direct. Growth in Business Continuity planning and consultancy has been aided by the release of a much-upgraded version of the Group’s ShadowPlanner product. Read the full statement.

Plan B acquires Turnstone Limited
Plan B Limited has reached agreement with the shareholders of voice, video and data network provider Turnstone Limited to acquire the business and assets of the company.

Turnstone’s core business is voice, video and data networks built for customers using their nationwide IP network. They will continue to operate as a separate division of Plan B while providing opportunities to further enhance Plan B’s solutions in line with our customer requirements.

The acquisition will open access to a range of new services that will complement and enhance Plan B’s core business continuity and recovery services. http://www.planb.co.nz/

LLR Partners invests in Agility Recovery
LLR Partners has announced an investment in Agility Recovery, a US-based provider of disaster recovery and business continuity solutions. LLR will partner with the existing management team to help expand Agility’s sales force and extend support for members.

“LLR has a long track record of helping companies at our stage rapidly accelerate. They demonstrate a remarkable understanding of our business and will provide the expertise, strategic support and resources that Agility needs to continue to execute on our vision that every business and every community is prepared,” said Bob Boyd, President & CEO of Agility Recovery. “I’m confident that as partners we can capitalize on the opportunities ahead.” www.llrpartners.com www.agilityrecovery.com

Unitrends reports 36 percent growth in fourth quarter of 2014
Unitrends, a leader in enterprise-level cloud recovery, has released highlights of its full-year 2014 results. Unitrends reported the best financial results in the company’s history for both the fiscal year and the fourth quarter. The company grew 36 percent in the fourth quarter and 33 percent for the full-year 2014. Read press release.

Fusion announces business expansion
Fusion Risk Management, Inc., provider of the Fusion Framework Continuity Risk Management System, has announced the expansion of its operations and the addition of key managers to its leadership team.

Joining Fusion are Kurt Spangler as vice president of product marketing, Cory Cowgill as chief architect, and Scott Arthur as sales manager, Canada.

Fusion is doubling its staff to 50 employees in 2015 adding to its sales, customer support and development departments. The company will open a new office in the heart of Chicago’s downtown technology district, and further expand its headquarters in the Chicago suburb of Rolling Meadows, IL. www.fusionrm.com

Vocus expands with acquisition of EDC
Vocus Communications has entered into agreements to acquire the two data centres and business continuity operations of Enterprise Data Corporation (EDC).

This acquisition represents an opportunity to add complementary business continuity services to Vocus’ suite of solutions to corporate customers in Australia.

The two Data Centres are located in Norwest in Sydney and Mitcham in Melbourne with both offering capacity for additional growth.

The purchase price is $23.5m and will be funded from existing cash resources. The acquisition is subject to normal conditions and is forecast to generate annualised EBITDA of approximately $4.7m. www.vocus.com.au

Sungard AS Ireland secures ISO 27001 certification
Sungard Availability Services has announced that it has achieved the ISO 27001:2013 standard for its enterprise-grade shared private cloud environment and managed services offering. By attaining the standard, Sungard AS Ireland has proven to an independent third-party that it has developed and implemented a best-in-class information security management system (ISMS) for itself and its customers.

The ISO 27001:2013 certification provides organizations with an internationally recognised, independent verification that the company is able to securely manage information security, retaining confidentiality, integrity and availability of all data. www.sungardas.ie

Jermyn Consulting relocates to West Yorkshire
Jermyn Consulting, a UK-based business continuity company has moved to larger offices in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, as it looks to implement the next phase of its growth strategy.

Jermyn Consulting, which this year celebrates 15 years providing business support to UK and international clients, has moved to the centrally located Media Centre in the town as it looks to expand and broaden its customer base. www.jermynconsulting.com

Iron Mountain and Seagate in DR partnership
Iron Mountain and Seagate Technology plc have announced a multi-year alliance agreement that brings together distinct capabilities in security, services, and scale. Seagate will co-locate parts of its data center/centre operations to Iron Mountain’s National Underground Data Center. Additionally, Iron Mountain will resell Seagate EVault Cloud Server Backup and Cloud Disaster Recovery solutions. Iron Mountain will offer Seagate EVault Cloud Backup and Cloud Disaster Recovery services with the benefit of their data being protected in Iron Mountain’s National Underground Data Center near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Read press release.

Phoenix IT Group publishes interim results
Phoenix saw revenue fall 8.1 percent during the six months to the end of September 2014, compared to the same period in 2013; and underlying profit before tax (non-recurring items and amortisation of acquired intangibles) fell 5 percent to £5 million. The company said that these results were in line with expectations. Encouragingly for Phoenix, profit before tax increased by 237.8 percent to £4.1 million and net debt was £18.5m lower than the same time last year at £56.1m. Business Continuity margins were maintained in spite of some lengthening in sales cycles for larger contract opportunities. Read the results statement.

Hosted Network launches Desktop DR
Hosted Network has announced it now provides Desktop DR, enabling organizations to ensure workforce continuity in the event of a disaster. Hosted Network identified a gap in their premium cloud-hosting services by acknowledging that their partner’s end-users are often neglected from traditional disaster recovery schemes. They closed this margin with their Desktop DR solution that promises end-users the ability to quickly resume productivity from any device, anywhere should a disaster impact their workforce. Read press release.

Derdack announces availability of its enterprise notification software in the Microsoft Azure Marketplace
Derdack has announced that is has gained Microsoft Azure Certified status for its flagship product, Enterprise Alert. With Enterprise Alert running on Azure, enterprises and organizations can benefit from automating critical notifications and emergency communication processes, from mobile alarm management and app-based mobile incident handling while enjoying the reliability, scalability and beneficial payment model of cloud solutions. Read press release.

TierPoint to acquire Xand
TierPoint, a US-based provider of collocation and cloud services, has announced it has reached an agreement with an affiliate of ABRY Partners to acquire Xand, a provider of collocation, cloud, disaster recovery and managed services with six data centers located in New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. Terms of the sale were not disclosed. The acquisition of Xand will expand TierPoint’s position as a leading provider of collocation and cloud services. The combined company will operate 13 highly-redundant, Tier III+ data centers in 10 cities with almost 300,000 square feet of raised floor, serving approximately 3,700 customers. www.tierpoint.com, www.xand.com

Capital Continuity expands into the US
Capital Continuity, a UK provider of replication, recovery and migration software for managed service providers (MSPs), has announced that it will offer its IT service continuity management solution to the US MSP market. “There’s a sharp increase in the need for near instant IT service resiliency in addition to traditional disaster recovery solutions,” said Lee Exall, managing director of Capital Continuity. “Today’s ‘always on’ service expectations mean that businesses need a solution that keeps critical systems and applications running at all times as well as a way to recover in the event of a catastrophe.” www.capitalcontinuity.co.uk