EMEAP, the Executives’ Meeting of East Asia-Pacific Central Banks is a forum for central banks in East Asia and Pacific region to strengthen the cooperative relationship among its members. It comprises the central banks of eleven economies: Bank of Japan, Bank of Korea, People's Bank of China, Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Reserve Bank of Australia, Reserve Bank of New Zealand, Monetary Authority of Singapore, Bank Negara Malaysia, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Bank of Thailand and Bank Indonesia. EMEAP activities are a three-tiered forum comprising Governors’, Deputies’ and Working Group Meetings. The IT Directors’ Meeting (ITDM) was a working group meeting established in 2001 to study IT-related matters and its application to member central banks. EMEAP ITDM regularly held 2 (two) activities annually consist of the Meeting and the Workshop. EMEAP ITDM Workshop is an annual forum for IT Directors of Central Banks and Monetary Authorities in East Asia Pacific region to exchange experiences and knowledge related to Information Technology issues.

The 9th EMEAP IT Directors Meeting Workshop will be held in Bali, Indonesia from 15 – 17 February 2012. The themes for this Workshop as were decided from the previous ‘The 8th EMEAP ITDM Workshop 2011’ in Seoul, South Korea and ‘The 10th EMEAP ITDM 2011’ in Singapore are "Data Center and Data Recovery Center (DC-DRC) – Sharing Experience in Current State and Future Plan" as main topic and "Information System Security – Sharing Experience in Current State and Future Plan" as special topic.

The main topic, "Data Center and Data Recovery Center (DC-DRC)" was chosen in regard to the importance of Data Center as one of the most significant parts of a business in the technologically advanced world of today. Data Center houses computer system, storage systems, telecommunications, and more. It controls and stores a large amount of the data of the banks. It is once said that business data is the soul of the business. A data center must consequently keep high standards for assuring the integrity of the data stored and also the functionality of its computer environment. Central Banks like many other businesses rely on their information systems to run their operations and Business Continuity has become one of their main concerns. If a system becomes unavailable, banks operations may be halted. As a consequence of the need to minimize any chance of disruption of the Central Banks operation, it is crucial for the banks to provide a reliable infrastructure for IT operations as in the building of a Data Recovery Center.

As for the special topic, "Information System Security" was chosen in regard to the importance of the information system security in protecting the Central Banks operations. The Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability of the Information System are major concern of the bank’s operations. It has to be certain that the operations of the Central Banks can run efficiently and securely and the data stored in the data center is protected from the chances of a security breach. By implementing a comprehensive and reliable information system security the central banks can reduce organization’s overall risk profile. Furthermore, in correlation with the main topic, Data Center and Data Recovery Center operations, this Information system security is something that has to carry out and work together for them to operate efficiently and effectively. The Central Banks realize that Information System Security is not solely an 'IT problem’, but it is a business issue as a whole.

The workshop will be a forum for each member of ITDM to share their current state of DC-DRC and Information System Security on what standard or best practices are used as references, their experience and challenges with the current implementation and what the concept, strategy and road map for their future plan. Finally, the committee wishes that the purpose of the ITDM Workshop to exchange experiences and knowledge related to Information Technology issues will be achieved and the member can benefit from this 9th EMEAP ITDM Workshop, 15-17 February 2012 in Bali.