Eze Castle Integration has launched the Eze Business Continuity Portfolio, a range of managed IT and consulting services for hedge funds and investment firms.

Aimed at firms of all sizes, the Eze Business Continuity Portfolio also provides access to Eze Castle's expanded Eze Disaster Recovery Services (Eze DR). With three options available - Eze DR Silver, Eze DR Gold and Eze DR Platinum - firms can now tailor their business continuity plan based on strategy and budget.

In the financial services industry, business continuity needs vary according to a firm's size, investment strategy, application dependence and regulatory requirements. The three Eze Disaster Recovery Services options on offer provide a range of choices that address common disaster recovery demands, including cost-effectiveness, protection of custom in-house financial applications and rapid deployment. Eze DR Services also ensure clients have remote access to their applications and data, which reside safely off-site and away from the primary business location. In the event of an outage, any authorized employee can access the information and continue working via the Internet from virtually anywhere in the world.

Each Eze DR Service offering is built to provide the highest levels of quality and availability:

• Eze DR Silver is ideal for firms seeking a cost-effective data protection solution with a rapid 'go live' time.
• Eze DR Gold delivers high availability and disaster recovery for business-critical data and applications, such as order management systems, Microsoft Exchange or in-house applications.
• Eze DR Platinum gives firms the optimum disaster recovery and high availability solution with near-zero downtime.

"A business continuity system is no longer a nice-to-have, it is a must-have,' says Chris Grandi, managing director of Eze Castle Integration. 'We continue to see a marked increase in demand for disaster recovery solutions as hedge funds strive to satisfy stringent investor and SEC requirements for greater resiliency and transparency. Our Eze Business Continuity Services make it easy for firms to implement a tailored, cost-effective solution that addresses their unique information availability needs."

The Eze Business Continuity Portfolio services are managed and operated by Business Continuity Professionals who understand the stringent requirements for successfully implementing and maintaining a disaster recovery plan.

Testing is a key weakness of disaster recovery plans, with many investment firms being unsure if their DR site will even work in the case of an emergency. To eliminate this concern, the Eze business continuity team conducts quarterly audits and tests with the client to ensure smooth operation in the event of an outage.

Background notes: Eze Castle Integration (http://www.eci.com) is the leading provider of outsourced IT services to the investment industry. The company's services include: Startup and Relocation; Outsourced Technology Support; Telecommunications; Business Continuity and Archiving; and Internet Service. Eze Castle Integration is headquartered in Boston and has offices in New York, San Francisco, Minneapolis and Greenwich, CT.