By Jim Weller, President, Baltimore
Technology Park (Published January 22, 2007)
Many business people believe the biggest threats to their operations
are the headline-grabbing events: the 2005 fire that shut down Baltimore’s
electrical grid, the damage caused by Hurricane Isabel in 2003,
and possible terrorist attacks. Such anxiety is not merely a local
concern, either. A 2006 study commissioned by the Business Continuity
Institute (BCI) found that 28 percent of companies nationwide view
terrorist attacks as the biggest threat to their business, followed
by 21 percent that fear physical disasters. While we all need to
be concerned about these risks, it is the more mundane, less dramatic
issues that routinely bring business to a halt.
For example, human error, unreliable power (both in-house and from
utility companies), insufficient cooling for infrastructure, and
inconsistent Internet connectivity all cause business disruptions
far more often than dramatic physical events. Perhaps familiarity
with these problems lowers our concern about them. Indeed, in the
aforementioned study, power failure, loss of power, and telecom
and IT equipment failures combined accounted for only 20% of companies’
fears. But with some simple forethought and basic business continuity
planning, the disruptive effects of physical and everyday risks
can be greatly minimized.
The following are some of the top risks to the critical data and
infrastructure that is integral to every organization, and what
you can do to protect your business operations.
Insufficient In-house Power Supply
Modern blade servers are now smaller, faster and more powerful,
but their downside is that they require more power, thus taxing
an organization’s in-house power supply and driving up electrical
bills. Companies with an in-house data center almost always underestimate
their power needs. This often leads to overburdening the firm’s
power supply, which can bring down the company’s IT systems.
To mitigate the risk, consider the projected increase in power
that new equipment will require and design a system of redundant
power and distribution. Since electricity is converted to heat,
additional cooling units and cooling power should be considered,
too, whenever IT system increases are planned. Also, ensure there
is a reliable back up power supply to protect from electrical system
or utility failure.
Unreliable Power Supply From Utilities
The country’s aging and fragile power grid has experienced
highly publicized brownouts that can last hours or days. An area-wide
power outage can severely affect your business. Receiving your “power
from the street” (from a utility) is less stable than implementing
fully “conditioned power,” so build a system capable
of keeping power supplied to your IT equipment regardless of the
state of the utility. A fully redundant system including Universal
Power Supply (UPS), automatic transfer switching and diesel generators
should be utilized to eliminate the dependency on utility uptime.
Insufficient Cooling for Key Infrastructure
Another byproduct of more powerful servers is that they generate
more heat than their predecessors and therefore require more cooling,
which is often overlooked. These require adequate HVAC systems and
monitoring devices to maintain temperatures within a range that
keeps the equipment running smoothly, even as new servers and other
equipment are added. In today’s densely powered equipment
environments, a single HVAC system failure can shut down data operations
entirely. All too often businesses task their IT staff with cooling
the server and IT room, but this responsibility is usually out of
its staff’s realm of expertise. Sufficient HVAC capacity and
redundancy is essential to ensure a proper climate-controlled environment
for electronic equipment.
Inconsistent Internet Connectivity
Internet connectivity is vital to a business, so it is important
to seek a location that offers carrier-neutral network connectivity
options so you can use the provider you want. If you use bandwidth
provided by a data center, make sure it is redundant, blended bandwidth
with multiple provider cross-connections and dark fiber. The quality
of the connection is also a factor and it is helpful to have the
fiber running into and out of the building, and to the metropolitan
area and beyond – including redundancy for all fiber. Finally,
through Service Level Agreements, you should expect “five
9s” (99.999% connectivity uptime) from a provider.
Human Error
Human error is frequently a cause of disruption, contributing to
such disasters as data loss and power outages. Problems such as
these can arise due to lack of training, poorly defined processes,
and inadequate maintenance practices. To address these potential
problems, managers first need to assess the capabilities of their
staff, the quality of their processes, and the state of their IT,
electrical and mechanical systems to get a thorough understanding
of possible points of failure. After evaluating this information,
managers can then begin to define, document and test procedures
to mitigate such risks.
Physical Disasters
The risk of fire and flood can be reduced by ensuring that an in-house
or outsourced data center has adequate fire suppression capabilities
and a water detection system below the raised flooring.
Terrorist Attacks
The threat to businesses from terrorist attacks is an obvious concern,
especially for firms in high-profile areas like Washington, D.C.
and nearby cities. Colocating data and equipment at a site that
is close enough for easy access, but a safe distance away from your
business, is prudent for ensuring business continuity in the event
of an attack.
As day-to-day business operations place more and more pressure
on companies to secure and protect their critical data and IT equipment,
it is paramount that they understand and address all of the risks,
from the dramatic to the everyday.
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