Does your agency have a disaster contingency plan?
Do you know what to do to get your computer system running again after a fire or flood?

Introducing the AMS 360, AfW and Sagitta Disaster Recovery Service

AMS offers a disaster recovery program exclusively for AMS 360, AfW and Sagitta agencies. Agencies subscribing to DRS that experience a disaster simply ship their most recent backup(s) to AMS’s data center in College Station, Texas via overnight delivery. Agency employees can be servicing customers using their AMS 360, AfW or Sagitta data from home or from a temporary location within just a few days.

How does the service work?

AMS runs an agency's AMS 360, AfW or Sagitta system in an ASP mode from our own sophisticated, TruSecure and SAS70 certified data center. Agencies using the AMS 360, AfW or Sagitta in-house system will, during the 90 day disaster recovery period, become AMS 360 Online, AfW Online or Sagitta Online users. They then have the option of remaining online or, after replacing hardware and locating new office space, returning to the in-agency AMS 360, AfW or Sagitta system.

Why do I need this?

AMS understands that an insurance agency whose business is interrupted by a disaster like fire, hurricane, flood, earthquake or system malfunction need the immediate ability to be back in business servicing customers, especially when some of their customers may have also been affected by the same disaster.

The AMS Disaster Recovery Service (DRS) is the ideal solution to meet this need. Basically, the AMS online solutions for AMS 360, AfW and Sagitta become your insurance policy in case of a disaster.  Simply send AMS your latest backup(s) and we’ll load it in the data center.  LiveVault Online Backup solution subscribers, will need to contact LiveVault to authorize AMS to download your data directly to the data center.  Access is provided to your personnel immediately upon restoration in our data center for 90 days following.  If, within the 90 day recovery period, you decide to remain on the online version, all standard setup fees will be waived.  In other words, in the event of a disaster, your DRS goes from being an insurance policy to an investment.  You can move to the online product and pay no up front costs (which can be thousands of dollars).  AMS will simply modify your monthly support fees to reflect the newest online subscription fees for your particular solution and continue to support you in that environment.

There are no delays due to contract negotiations, no waiting for deposits and/or up front fees, or shipment and configuration of hardware to gain access to either the AfW Online or Sagitta Online system. 

Together, AMS and your agency will be prepared and a significant piece of your agency’s disaster contingency planning will be covered.

How will AMS respond to a regional disaster that impacts several AMS agencies?

Based on the number and locations of subscribers to the DRS program, AMS will increase and maintain our data center capacity to accommodate most occurrences of wide-spread disasters.

What do I need to do?

To be prepared:

• Review the details of the disaster recovery service at
  www.ams-support.com/drs.asp.   
• Register for the disaster recovery service at:
  • www.ams-support.com/iss/htmafw/drs/regform.asp for AMS 360 or AfW
  • www.ams-support.com/iss/htmsagitta/drs/regform.asp for Sagitta
    (These links will prompt for your user name and password to the AMS Customer Support web site.)
• Maintain valid, current and safe (stored offsite) backup(s).
• Use the same AMS 360, AfW or Sagitta software version (the most recent release) as that running in the data center.

At the time of a disaster:

• Immediately inform AMS by web or telephone of the disaster event.
• Ship the most recent backup(s) using approved media to the AMS data center by overnight delivery service, or contact LiveVault if you are a subscriber of their online backup solution.
• Obtain access to electricity, telephone and an Internet connection.

Within 90 days following the disaster:

• Inform AMS of your choice to –
  1. either remain on AMS 360 Online, AfW Online or Sagitta Online.  (In this case you would begin paying then current AMS 360 Online, AfW Online or Sagitta Online user fees but avoid the AMS 360, AfW or Sagitta Online start-up fees*)
  2. or resume AMS 360, AfW or Sagitta in-house.

What is the cost for the program?

When you subscribe to the Disaster Recovery Service, AMS 360 and AfW customers will pay a monthly recurring fee of $35 base plus $5.00 per user license, and Sagitta customers will pay a monthly recurring fee of $40 base plus $6.00 per user license.  Fees will be billed monthly, quarterly or annually, in line with however your standard support fees are billed. During the disaster recovery period, the agency will continue paying its regular in-house support fees (including DRS). Agencies that decide to remain on AMS 360 Online, AfW Online or Sagitta Online after the disaster recovery period will begin paying then current AMS 360 Online, AfW Online or Sagitta Online fees but will not need to pay the start-up fee normally required of new users of AMS 360 Online, AfW Online or Sagitta Online.**

Are there any other special situations I should be aware of?

Sagitta DRS is NOT available for non-Browser Sagitta systems.  Sagitta customers should also know that non-digitized logos or custom print programs that were not coded for Adobe will not work in the online environment without further custom coding.  If you have these items and see them as necessary in a disaster recovery situation, please email  to obtain a quote on the custom coding.

 

**Note: There is no conversion charge if the agency is using the most current version of AMS 360, AfW or Sagitta software (the version being run in the AMS data center). In the event an agency paying DRS fees has not maintained the database on current software they will be charged $995.00 to migrate to the current production version of AMS 360, AfW or Sagitta software. This conversion, if required, will introduce a delay in the timing of the agency going live with AMS 360, AfW or Sagitta Online.