How robust is your data centre continency plan?

If data centre owners and operators have one overriding key performance indicator, it is availability: you must keep services running and, critically, prevent failures in your facilities that could lead to an outage. 

The use of modern systems and processes has improved reliability overall with fewer outages reported, but the 2021 Eleventh Uptime Institute Data Centre Survey, found that the impact of an outage has risen.

According to the survey of over 800 operators and IT practitioners, should an outage occur, about a fifth are classified as severe or serious, meaning there were big financial, reputational and other consequences; a further quarter were classified in the next most impactful category — significant, with lesser but still major consequences.

With the average cost of IT downtime estimated at £4,200 per minute (Source: Gartner), it is no surprise that companies within the sector are still concerned about resiliency. 

Delving a little deeper into outages, power remains the leading cause of outage, with more than 76% of IT practitioners believing management strategies and process configuration could prevent power loss and outages.

If you were to lose power, would you be able to fulfil the demands of your end users?

The number of risks facing the sector is rising. From extreme weather changes such as heat waves to overreliance on the national grid, through to ageing equipment. Although outages can often be beyond the organisation’s direct control, what companies can do is have a robust contingency plan in place that helps provide extra stability to operations. Improving resilience can reduce downtime, protect against financial loss and safeguard relationships and reputations.

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Business Continuity Planning