SAVVIS Now Certified by Visa USA

This marks the first addition to SAVVIS Retail Avenue, a broad set of IT solutions that assist retailers with the management and protection of digital brand assets; enhance their customer service capabilities; provide a strong foundation for their e-commerce strategies; provide IT infrastructure utility solutions and assist with training and distance learning initiatives. SAVVIS Retail Avenue leverages the companys expertise in delivering solutions to over 400 retail clients and its experience in providing mission critical IT solutions to more than 7,000 companies worldwide. In order to maintain consumer confidence and reduce the risk of merchant loss, Visa USA developed the CISP program, which is a set of security standards designed to protect sensitive cardholder data when used in online credit card transactions. Visa USA currently requires that all select merchants and service providers demonstrate annual compliance with the CISP by means of a third party compliance assessment. Having been named a certified assessment provider by Visa USA and having recently launched Retail Avenue, SAVVIS is an ideal choice for retailers as the company not only understands the subtle nuances of the CISP but also understands the inner workings of the retail environment. Under its CISP Assessment Services, SAVVIS provides three different service levels: -- Select or large merchant assessments - Designed for merchants that conduct 6 million transactions or handle 6 million accounts annually, this service adheres to the Visa USA Security Audit Procedures and Reporting guidelines (CISP SAP) -- Non-select or small merchant assessments - Designed for merchants that conduct 500,000 to 6 million transactions or handle 500,000 to 6 million accounts annually, this service adheres to the Visa USA CISP 5.5 requirements and Select Merchant Security Audit Procedures (M-SAP) -- Service provider assessments - Designed for all organizations that support e-merchants who accept Visa cards in a card-not-present environment, this service adheres to Visa USA CISP SAP requirements. SAVVIS offers CISP Assessment Services on both an annual basis and on a recurring basis through its Virtual Compliance Officer service. The latter ensures on-going compliance and identifies potential issues as they occur, saving retailers significant quantities of time and money on annual certification. Retailers are focusing attention on CISP compliance in order to maintain their relationships with Visa USA but more importantly to provide customers with valuable assurances that appropriate precautions have been taken to secure their sensitive cardholder data. A SAVVIS CISP compliance assessment provides insight into potential vulnerabilities and risks that may be present within a retailers systems and ensures that the retailers site security posture is consistent with industry-recognized best practices and Visas CISP requirements.