Venyu Blog

In the interest of full disclosure I’ve never been a huge football fan. You know the kind. Giving up entire Sundays for the balance of the NFL season just so I can tune in to the pre-game, the game itself, the half-time talk between retired pros and commentators that need to be, the post-game and the post-analysis for every team carried by my satellite provider or on my DirectTV. With my HDTV front and center, the pizza delivery guy at the door and all of my NFL “Fatheads”  flanking either side of my oversized leather sofa.

This frenzied fandom always reminded me of a joke I heard years ago from a stand-up comedian about following—exactly—the directions found on a shampoo bottle: Rinse, Wash, Repeat—and then doing it all over again. In a loop. For hours. Without ever changing the routine. Or finally rinsing out your hair and stepping out of the shower.

No harm, no foul on those of you who have committed your next three months of Sundays and beyond to America’s most popular sport (sorry soccer…in my books you’re not even tied for last place, although those annoying  “vuvuzela” horns could come in handy the next time my in-laws stop by unexpectedly or my neighbor insists on cutting his lawn for the third time that day. If you know where I can get a pair cheap, you know how to reach me).

Anyhow…the reason I bring this all up is there is a phrase I learned recently most closely associated with football but I think it’s applicable to the story I found today on Web Host Industry Review entitled “AFCOM Report Finds Data Centers Lack Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Plans.”

AFCOM — which bills itself as the leading association of data center management professionals has just released a study at its Data Center World conference recently held in Orlando, the highlight of which finds that more than 15 percent of data centers have no plan for business continuity or disaster recovery.

In the wake of everything going on in today’s world – from E-5 tornados that rip through small towns like Joplin, Missouri over the summer to near-daily announcements of data breaches to manmade accidents and those, like 9/11 that are otherwise, I find that percentage astonishing. Have these companies even heard of recovery point objectives (RPO) and recovery time objectives (RTO)? In other words, how much data a company is willing to lose if its systems go down.

Disaster recovery and business continuity today are often thought of in terms of recovery point objectives (RPO) and recovery time objectives (RTO). In other words, how much data is a company willing to lose if its systems go down.

For the record AFCOM defines a disaster as “an unexpected event that causes significant disruption to mission critical or core business services or functions.” According to the report many data center providers do not address business continuity and disaster recovery as two separate issues despite each issue requiring its own plan.

“Natural events and cyber security attacks lurk as constant threats to a data center’s integrity. Recent events around the world–from earthquakes to phishing attacks–have shown the serious damage and compromised positions businesses can find themselves in if they are not properly prepared,” Jill Yaoz, CEO, AFCOM said in a statement. “Every business and IT professional should be taking time to update his or her disaster recovery plans and make sure they can get back online quickly in the event of an emergency. Unfortunately, our research suggests many are not regularly updated or tested, which is a huge concern.”

Moreover, according to the report, two-thirds of data centers have no plan or procedures to deal with cybercrime.

As suggested by AFCOM business continuity plans for the data center environment should cover issues impacting the core electrical plant/mechanical plant, technical area mechanical systems/electrical systems, BMS platform and fire suppression and detection.

The report indicates that many aspects of the business continuity plan relate to the available levels of redundancy.

AFCOM says a key component of the disaster recovery plan is to understand how critical infrastructure and systems would be replaced in the event of damage. This, according to the report, requires detailed planning with key vendors or holding spares at different locations, for example. The report says 50 percent of data centers have no formal plan for replacing damaged equipment after a disaster.

The report also explores the steps to take in using the cloud for disaster recovery, and reviews the priority recovery levels for every component.

“While disaster recovery is not a one-size-fits-all proposition we feel our report offers best practices that can be applied to most any business and data center to help guide them to a stronger level of defense and preparedness,” Yaoz added.

Based on the findings of the ASCOM report it’s safe to say not every company has embraced the benefits of online backup and recovery, server virtualization or cloud computing – which – if you stood the percentage of those data centers which have versus those who do not on its head, is encouraging. For that other fifteen percent I guess you can always fall back on that old football trope, “When All Else Fails…Punt!”