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Business Continuity

To ensure its business continuity, NSD has in place and continuously improves the business continuity management system based on the recognized standards and global best practices.

The business continuity management system covers the entirety of NSD’s key areas of business and is focused on:

  • ensuring safety of NSD’s employees and visitors;
  • ensuring NSD’s ability to meet its obligations to clients and partners in the event of disruption of the company’s normal operations;
  • prevention of potential disruption of the company’s normal operations;
  • mitigation of negative consequences of emergencies;
  • restoration of the normal operations following an emergency; and
  • maintaining the level of management at NSD, which allows for making reasonable and optimal management decisions and implementing them in a timely fashion and in full.

The work aimed at ensuring the continuity of critical business processes is systematic and consistent. Business continuity management is supported by NSD’s senior executives, with necessary resources being allocated to take all measures required to ensure the proper level of operational reliability.

NSD has in place adequate backup infrastructure: the backup data center and the backup site. In addition, NSD has in place Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Plans (BCDR Plans) that are tested, reviewed, and updated on a regular basis.

Specific Nature of Operations in 2020

2020 was characterized by unprecedented restrictions and measures imposed at the government level to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus infection, which affected staff and operations of businesses. The Public Health Threat Response Plan prepared by NSD well in advance was promptly adapted to the new pandemic environment.

In accordance with the Plan, a variety of steps were taken at different times and depending on the virus spread level, including preventive and health measures in the office and remote work arrangements covering up to 95% of NSD’s employees.

As part of the transition to remote work, NSD had to address the following key tasks:

  • having users prepared to work in the new environment, while maintaining the proper control environment, including IT and administrative support of the transition process;
  • prompt fine-tuning of the necessary hardware required for remote work and software licenses required for access through secured channels;
  • ensuring information security and operational reliability in the new environment;
  • management of communications with stakeholders and ensuring compliance with Moscow City Mayor’s Decrees.

Disaster Recovery Testing and Exercises Under the BCDR Plans

In 2020, NSD conducted a number of tests covering different areas of NSD’s business. Disaster recovery testing involved the most complicated and comprehensive scenarios, such as ‘isolation of the main data center' and failover to the backup data center with all critical systems operating there under a full load during 5 business days.

In addition to testing disaster recovery of IT systems and utilities and BCDR Plans testing, NSD, as part of its business continuity efforts, conducts cross-functional exercises. In 2020, an exercise was conducted for the Emergency Management Committee that had to deal with a crisis simulation. As part of the exercise, the Emergency Management Committee members put into practice their skills of responding to emergencies, introducing an emergency regime, communicating with stakeholders, including mass media, investigating root causes of the emergency, and taking decisions required to return to normal operations.

The positive outcomes of the exercises and tests prove the high level of NSD’s preparedness to ensure the continuity of its services for clients in an emergency.