IT-Lifeline’s “Business Continuity Certificate of Proficiency”© is a program designed to provide stakeholders and/or shareholders documented assurance that all elements required to resume critical business operations have been tested and verified by both sponsor/stakeholder executive management and IT-Lifeline business continuity experts. The deliverable to the sponsor/stakeholder is a point-in-time Certificate of Proficiency and an Evidentiary Proof Document. The Certificate of Proficiency is valid for one year and renewal options are available and recommended.
IT-Lifeline business continuity planners, project management staff, and information technology engineers will evaluate and test the effectiveness of the sponsors overall business continuity plan. The specific elements to be evaluated are as follows:

1. Business Impact Analysis
2. Business Continuity Plan
3. Information Technology Continuity Plan
4. Structured Information Technology Recovery Testing
5. End-User Application Testing
6. Executive Point-In-Time Sign-off

IT-Lifeline business continuity planners, project management staff, and information technology engineers will evaluate these six key areas based on standards defined within Business Continuity Best Practices and real-life experience and testing within the IT-Lifeline Continuity Center.
The Business Impact Analysis, Business Continuity Plan, and Information Technology Continuity Plan will be reviewed and critiqued. If any areas do not meet the criteria during the review process, IT-Lifeline will either offer services to complete the necessary actions or will recommend an outside third-party company to complete the task.
Structured Information Technology Recovery Testing, End-User Application Testing, and the Executive Point-In-Time Sign-Off must take place at a predefined recovery facility. The facility may be an alternate customer-owned site, IBM or SunGard Recovery Center, or an IT-Lifeline Continuity Center. If customer requires assistance to align resources or complete the testing phase, IT-Lifeline planners or engineers can assist or recommend a third party.
The ultimate goal behind this program is to assure stakeholders, shareholders, and auditors that the organizations recovery plans meet or exceed the expectations set forth by the executive management.