ePLDT ensures business continuity for MegaLink

Leading banking consortium MegaLink has signed up with ePLDT, the information and communications technology company of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) for disaster recovery services at the VITRO Data Center.

It initially involves the recovery of MegaLink’s operations, with a backup site at ePLDT’s VITRO Data Center. With Mega-Link servicing more than 500,000 transactions a day, the agreement with ePLDT will ensure business availability and minimize service interruption.

Thus far, MegaLink is the only consortium linked with both BancNet and Expressnet, extending its network reach to more than 4,500 ATMs nationwide.

To serve its member-banks’ six million cardholders, Mega-Link seeks to ensure 24-hour, year-round availability of its mission-critical applications.

The VITRO Data Center’s disaster recovery facility is one of the measures that will allow Mega-Link to meet this business objective.

"Barring a total disaster at the MegaLink current site, Mega-Link’s system is currently able to sustain any component failures without interruption of service because of multiple redundancies in the network’s switch configuration," Cris Santillan, MegaLink general manager, said.

"Co-locating MegaLink’s back-up equipment at ePLDT’s VITRO Data Center, with its state-of-the art fully redundant support facilities, will ensure MegaLink’s continued operation even in the event of a major disaster," he added.

"ePLDT is committed to provide dependable and reliable backup and disaster recovery services to the banking and financial services industry," Ray Espinosa, ePLDT president, said.

"We are very honored for having been chosen by MegaLink as its provider of backup and disaster recovery services in order to ensure business continuity," he said.

The VITRO Data Center serves as MegaLink’s alternate head office site. VITRO simulates an environment similar to MegaLink’s head office, enabling MegaLink to seamlessly transfer operations and perform regular business operations during a disaster.

This includes relevant services such as server space, redundant network connectivity and office space complete with desktops, data ports and telephone lines.

"As always, we serve to meet MegaLink’s expectations," Espinosa said. "We intend to have a fruitful relationship with MegaLink and are honored for being entrusted with disaster recovery service for their mission-critical business operations."

The VITRO Data Center is the first and only ISO 9001:2000 certified Internet data center in the Philippines. Adhering to world standards of data center operations, it provides co-location, hosting, managed security and other managed services.

VITRO has expertise in hosting various platforms, including IBM pSeries (RS/6000), Sun Solaris, HP-UX, other Unix derivatives, Intel on Microsoft and Linux, and IBM mainframes and iSeries (AS/400).

The VITRO disaster recovery facility is manned round-the-clock by skilled personnel in a secure data center environment, and can provide network facilities through its carrier partners.