Crisis Management & Business Continuity

CDW is committed to safeguarding their coworkers and maintaining a resilient enterprise for its customers. Out of this commitment, CDW has established Crisis Management and Business Continuity as a top priority for the organization. This page is intended to provide a more in-depth overview of CDW’s program and associated resources.

CDW has a dedicated Business Continuity and Crisis Management Team who is responsible for the administration and overall management of the program. The team is managed by the Director of Global Security, Safety, and Business Continuity who reports directly to the Executive Committee. The leadership team has over 100 years of combined experience in Crisis Management, Business Continuity and Incident Response managing numerous large-scale events.

The program is governed by the Business Continuity Governance Committee and a Risk Oversight Committee. In addition, a Committee of the Board of Directors and senior executives oversee the program. The Business Continuity Manager reports to the Board Committee at least annually on the status of program components such as business continuity events and business continuity testing results.

At the center of CDW’s program is the Global Security Operations Center (GSOC). The GSOC provides around the clock management of both internal and external threats to CDW’s assets and operations to include vendors, partners and supply chain. The GSOC plays a vital role in communicating event information and coordinating resources in support of the Crisis Management and Business Continuity Program. Should a disruption occur impacting our customer, in accordance with the Business Continuity Plan, the GSOC will be responsible for facilitating communication throughout the course of the event. Through our commitment of a resilient enterprise, CDW has also established a redundant GSOC which is located in Las Vegas, NV.

CDW has implemented a training and awareness program in which Crisis Management and Business Continuity team members are provided training, at least annually. The training includes an understanding of the program and their roles during a crisis and / or business disruption event. Tabletop and live exercises are conducted annually at each level of the organization. Results are documented and shared with senior company executives and board of directors.

CDW’s program includes policies and actionable procedures for key stakeholders to follow during any business interruption. Supporting the program is a risk management and mass notification tool that are utilized to activate plans and immediately notify team members, customers, and key suppliers simultaneously within minutes of an incident. Leveraging strategies such as drop shipping, redundant IT systems, alternate office space and recovery services, we have developed robust plans to ensure the continuity of our operations and support we provide to our customers. Business interruptions addressed in the plans include but are not limited to:

CDW assesses and performs risk-based due diligence on third-party service providers’ resiliency and ability to continue to provide services during an event. As part of that assessment and due diligence, The CDW Business Continuity team evaluates vendors and supplier’s business continuity and crisis management plans and maturity levels. All plans must meet the CDW standards for business continuity planning.

It is our hope that we have successfully demonstrated our commitment and capability to support our customers through our Crisis Management and Business Continuity program. We look forward to working with you in the future. Please feel free to contact me if you have any additional questions.

Read More:   Operations and Distribution,  Insights and Information, CDW's Response to COVID-19