Dubai-UAE: 15 May, 2011 - eHosting DataFort, a fully owned subsidiary of TECOM Investments, has achieved the BS25999-2:2007 certification, becoming the first managed IT service provider in the UAE to receive the British standard for Business Continuity Management (BCM).

The certification was awarded by DNV (Det Norske Veritas), an independent organization that is engaged in the business of risk management for over 140 years and is one of the leading global providers of accredited certification, classification, verification, and training.

The world's first British standard developed to help minimise the risk of business disruptions, the BS 25999 certification recognizes an organisation's appropriate level of awareness, strategies, systems, plans and knowledge in order to cope with disasters and threatening situations.

To achieve the certification, eHDF went through a detailed pre-assessment of its internal business processes and functions. As a part of this preparation, a series of workshops were conducted which included creating an awareness on business continuity, incorporating internal organisational changes, and getting buy-in and approvals from top management. More importantly, all this was done keeping in mind that customers' services continued uninterrupted throughout the pre-certification process. DNV conducted a pre-assessment prior to final certification to ensure preparations were in line with the standard requirements.

Yasser Zeineldin, CEO at eHosting DataFort said: "As the first recipient of this very specialised certification in the UAE, eHDF now offers a unique advantage to its customers. This is mainly due to the increasing relevance of 'business continuity' and the growing need among organisations to be compliant with international standards that ensure their continued resilience even under critical situations.

"As a service provider, a certification such as this plays a key role for the sense of confidence that it creates amongst clients and stakeholders, assuring them of uninterrupted business operations even under the most disruptive circumstances."

Currently, the Business Continuity Management certification is applicable to shared IT services offered to eHDF customers as well as for internal departments. This certification will make a positive impact on customers as eHDF already offers other services related to Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity including Disaster Recovery Sites, Disaster Recovery Solutions, Disaster Recovery Seats and BCM Consulting.

Mohamed Rizvi, Manager - Information Security and Advisory Services at eHosting DataFort, said: "People, processes, technologies, partners and premises are the main factors that play a key role in achieving business continuity management and accreditation. Now, SMEs and large enterprises are making investments in BCM and Disaster Recovery (DR) solutions. This certification will serve as an assurance to customers and businesses that they are working with a service provider that complies with global best practices."

With world-class data centres, resilient and scalable infrastructure and round-the-clock managed operations, eHosting DataFort has established itself as a market leader in the field of hosting and managed IT services. The organisation has also been recognized for its innovative use of new technology in 2010, Best Colocation Facility in 2010 and was also awarded the region's 'Best Managed Service Provider of the Year' in 2008, 2009 and 2010.

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