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recovery strategy for disaster recovery of critical applications. Data is replicated on a
daily basis to an alternate site where hardware is in place for recovery. In the event of
a disaster, technical recovery teams restore the infrastructure, databases and
applications to the most current recovery point as dictated by business requirements.
(c) Loss of power
All data centers are currently protected by UPS equipment and diesel generators, so
that systems will continue to run in the event of a power outage. In some cases, the
generators power work spaces as well
(d) Loss of daily backup/natural disaster
Should we lose one daily backup for any reason, we would if necessary use the most
recent weekly and/or incremental backup for recovery and reapply or re-input any
missing data as necessary.
(e) Outages: Provide information on how short outages (2 hours or less) vs.
prolonged outages (more than 2 hours) would be handled.
Our Information Technology Application Support department handles short outages.
Personnel for production support are on call 24 hours a day, seven days per week to
handle any problems that arise. How a prolonged outage is handled would depend on
the particular situation and the prognosis. If we are unable to recover in a reasonable
period of time at our primary site, we will initiate recovery at an alternate site.
(f) Testing: How often and how is your backup plan tested?
Our backup plan is tested annually. All critical systems are recovered at an alternate
site and verified by the appropriate business unit. In addition, we conduct business
continuity tabletop exercises with senior management.
(g) Disasters: Please describe the most severe disaster that has occurred at your
facility and explain the cause, how it was handled, and what steps were taken to
prevent future occurrences
The most severe disaster sustained by our home office in Houston was Hurricane Ike,
in September 2008. The storm caused physical damage to VALIC's corporate facility.
However, our systems were unaffected due to the purposeful decentralization of our
operations and the successful execution of our Business Continuity Plan. All of our
recordkeeping, administrative and contact center functions continued without
interruption.
6. Describe your maintenance and backup procedures including daily backups, retention
timetable and off-site backup storage approach. Where are your off-site backup
facilities located?
VALIC has implemented a “self-recovery” strategy for disaster recovery between our two
primary data centers that offer full fail over capability between Fort Worth, TX and
Livingston, NJ in the event of disaster. Data is backed up to disk at the same location and
then replicated to the alternate data center (Fort Worth and Livingston). This includes
VALIC’s primary recordkeeping system
.