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Elliot Consulting Services Featured in ABA Banking Journal March 2008 Issue

Tampa, Fla. - April 7, 2008 - Steve Elliot, President and C.E.O. of Elliot Consulting Services, Inc. (ECS), was recently featured in the ABA Banking Journal March 2008 Issue as a resource on how the financial services industry should address business continuity standards.

The article titled "Extreme Risks" reports that business disruption scenarios such as natural disasters, information technology problems, terrorist-related activities, etc. can happen any time, any where. The author states that the past eight years saw a series of catastrophic events, from terrorist attacks to weather-related calamities, power outages and other disruptions. These events made the government and the private sector clamor for a stronger and more rigorous business continuity planning. Large banks have comprehensive continuity plans, which covers people, processes, technology, and facilities in place. However, costly planning is daunting for many but federal regulations now require that institutions to have a business continuity and disaster recovery plan.

The article described that smaller institutions have no comprehensive and updated disaster and recovery plans. Steve Elliot of Elliot Consulting Services said in the interview, "The fact is, progress not perfection should always be the aim as the inherent complexity of the industry makes it tough to craft resiliency around." Elliot points out that the growth though mergers & acquisitions is just one more top-of-mind reason why today's carefully crafted continuity plan can become out-of-date in a flash.

"It's important to be set up to modify the plan frequently," says Elliot. That means making use of some sort of content management system or portal-based technology so that information can be centrally collected, vetted, and posted for all appropriate constituents. Elliot also advises banks to periodically update all employees on shifts in approach that may touch on their duties, and adds that all employees should be trained in appropriate emergency response roles.

"Just because the emergency response and recovery team may be a much smaller crew of key executives," says Elliot, "doesn't mean that everyone in the company doesn't have a role to play in going from incidence response to the phases of recovery."

To read more about the banking industry's focus on incidence response, scenario building, contingency planning, and emergency response, go to the ABA Banking Journal.

About Steve Elliot
With thirty plus years as a highly successful global account manager, corporate trainer, and senior sales executive from the communications and high-tech industries, Steve Elliot founded Elliot Consulting Services to provide business resiliency solutions to a wide variety of prospective customers. Mr. Elliot’s broad professional experience includes sales, marketing, business development, operations, project management, business continuity planning, emergency preparedness, and disaster recovery positions with AT&T, Control Data, Westinghouse, and ABC/Capitol Cities.

About Elliot Consulting Services
Elliot Consulting Services was founded in 2003 to assist organizations with business continuity planning, emergency management, and disaster recovery solutions. Elliot Consulting functions as a third party advocate and facilitator to help companies create, develop, and implement all-hazards business resiliency solutions, crisis management plans, and pandemic response strategies, which are designed to protect their vital business resources and operational processes.

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