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Slideshow: Data Storage, Data Backup and Storage Virtualization: 10 Compelling Reasons for Outsourcing Disaster RecoveryeWEEK
By - Chris PreimesbergerManaging data center disaster recovery in the right way requires highly specialized personnel and creates infrastructure demands and additional costs for an enterprise. These requirements are reason enough for many organizations to consider whether they should handle disaster recovery in-house or utilize a third-party provider. Most enterprises have difficulty setting aside time and staff for training, installation of the hardware/software and testing of a DR system—that takes valuable time away from daily production schedules that can never be made up. Often, these "second-tier" duties get put aside and often are not completed. In addition, different parts of large IT systems may require separate DR hardware-software components, which only add to the company's bottom-line cost and time commitment. Deploying a specialized service provider to handle DR is a viable option for IT managers. SunGard Availability Services, a well-established IT services provider with more than 25,000 customers in some 70 countries, offers some insight into this topic for eWEEK readers. SunGard Availability Services expands colocation and managed services centers in AtlantaContinuity Central
By - StaffSunGard Availability Services is expanding its data centers in Midtown Atlanta and Smyrna, Ga. to meet increasing customer demand for colocation and managed services. The SunGard Midtown Atlanta facility is undergoing a large-scale power upgrade designed to support an additional 350 cabinets of IT space for customers. The upgrade includes adding 2.5 megawatts in utility power, doubling facility capacity. The infrastructure will also gain an additional two megawatt generator, one megawatt in UPS power and 300 tons of cooling capacity. The plan for the Smyrna facility is to add 25,000 square feet of raised floor for colocation and managed services with 16,000 square feet delivered in phase one. The upgrade also includes adding six megawatts of utility power, 2 N utility power redundancy (accessing power from separate utility substations), UPS power with N+1 redundancy and 700 tons of cooling capacity. SunGard Availability Services Expands Data Centers in AtlantaTMCnet
By - Calvin AzuriSunGard’s data center expansion will address the needs of Atlanta area technology companies that have higher power density requirements than non-tech firms. Moreover, the Atlanta area has a number of companies that need data center space in more than one center. SunGard addresses this requirement, as well since it provides a cost-effective, gigabit network connection for customers to link up operations across SunGard's three Atlanta area sites. Joining IT and FacilitiesData Center Journal
By - David Matusow, Center of Excellence, Architect, SunGard Availability ServicesInformation technology (IT) has been the department responsible for supporting and developing technology that is key to most companies throughout the world. The IT group originally developed these technologies in glass-enclosed rooms filled with mainframes and very expensive storage units. But as time proceeded, computer power was distributed in many companies. Disaster recovery news briefs: SunGard expands collocation and data centersSearchDisasterRecovery
By - StaffSunGard Availability Services announced it will expand its data centers and collocation centers in Atlanta to meet customer demand for more managed services. By building more data centers, SunGard says it will help customers address their business needs without having to build or manage their own data centers. SunGard currently has 35 managed services facilities in both North America and Europe. SunGard Expands its Atlanta Data CentersData Center Knowledge
By - Rich MillerThe Atlanta projects continue a series of significant expansions for SunGard Availability’s colocation and managed services business, which recently announced plans to open a new data center in Sacramento, Calif. and leased a major new Philadelphia data center last year. Proving the value of a business continuity plan (before disaster hits)SearchCIO
By - Linda TucciAbe Wachsman, senior vice president of IT at Atlantis Health Plan Inc., had no trouble proving the value of a solid business continuity plan to senior management. But that was after the fledgling Manhattan-based health care management company had been struck by two major disasters in seven years: the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and a 2008 fire that forced the business into a temporary space for six months. The first incident sent Atlantis Health to SunGard Availability Services LP, in Wayne, Pa., for disaster recovery help. Now Wachsman is in the midst of "bulletproofing our processes," he said, by adding a "much more robust layer of redundancy" to the company's systems. SunGard Makes the Case for Outsourced DRIT Jungle
By - Alex WoodieDoes your IT department have what it takes to recover from a disaster? That's the question that SunGard Availability Services is asking customers to ask themselves. Because without the proper investments in equipment and skills, many organizations' disaster recovery (DR) plans are doomed to failure, the IT mega vendor says. SunGard Builds Out Data CentersMSPmentor
By - Matthew WeinbergerThe Pennsylvania-based SunGard Availability Services is the disaster recovery and managed services arm of the $5 billion dollar software and service company SunGard. Their three Georgia-based data centers are about 15 miles apart, which SunGard says makes them ideal for local companies that need to operate out of multiple locations. Preparing for the WorstBanking Strategies Magazine
By - Karen Epper HoffmanBill Hughes, director of consulting services at SunGard Availability Services, says that the banking industry is better prepared than most for potential disaster because it faces so many regulatory requirements for data integrity and protection. “Banks also have a natural resiliency,” Hughes adds. “If other channels are down, customers can go to a branch. If that branch is closed, they can go to another branch.” Global CIO: CIOs Bet Big On Data Center StrategiesInformationWeek
By - Chris MurphyAs companies strain against data center capacity, they face a choice: build, retrofit, or outsource, says SunGard Availability Services data center consultant Mickey Zandi, who worked on the Whitney bank project. Zandi says he sees more companies looking at "smart retrofit" projects like this one, with an in-house data center paired with an outsourced one, with each backing up the other. They want "flexible infrastructure." Data Center Setup SnagsProcessor Magazine
By - Sixto OrtizAnother potential power and cooling misstep, says Mickey S. Zandi, managing principal, consulting services, at SunGard Availability Services (www.availability.sungard.com), is the failure by admins to watch their data center temperatures. Virtualization, which is leading to server consolidation and the increased use of blade architectures, creates the need for additional blade servers, says Zandi. Harness Heat & Power ConsumptionProcessor Magazine
By - Christian Perry“The first step is to discover the IT infrastructure and facilities,” says Dr. Mickey S. Zandi, managing principal, consulting services, at SunGard Availability Services (www.availability.sungard.com). “You must understand the current state of the infrastructure—how is it interconnected and independent? By understanding the interdependencies, an organization is then able to right-size the infrastructure. Next, validate your design layout and modify it to meet current trends. Carefully plan the change to the topology and the interconnectivity.” CIOs: Planning, no frills make disaster recovery plans recession proofSearchCIO
By - Linda TucciBill Hughes, director of consulting services at SunGard Availability Services LP, also saw plenty of customers cutting corners by:
- Using corporate buildings that were vacated or emptied because of the recession for secondary and tertiary recovery sites.
- Recalibrating data tiers in order to save money on recovery services.
- Leveraging server virtualization to reduce the floor space and power consumption at leased recovery sites.
Know Your Storage SituationProcessor Magazine
By - Robyn WeismanIncreasing data and shrinking budgets are two factors for which most data centers have to find a balance. “Developing storage optimization strategies can help organizations reclaim valuable storage capacity while meeting their information availability goals,” says Bill Stith, senior practice director of storage consulting at SunGard Availability Services. 10 Cloud Computing Trends for 2010ITBusinessEdge
By - Kara ReederOver at our CTO Edge site, SunGard Availability Services Services' Don Norbeck advises that now may be the time for businesses considering cloud computing to do a trial run with a non-critical business process. So, as always, vendors are a little ahead of the practical reality of cloud computing lives in the minds of most IT shops. Is Your Head in the Clouds? It Might Be the Right Place to BeDataCenterEdge
By - Don Norbeck, technology officer for virtualization, cloud computing and product strategy at SunGard Availability ServicesChange means disruption, and for many companies current economic conditions are a powerful disincentive to challenging the status quo. For those companies with at least a small appetite for risk, however, there has rarely been a better opportunity to optimize your IT operations. With a move to cloud computing, companies can begin replacing their capital-intensive approach with a new, more flexible model that will reap economic and operational efficiencies in business processes that IT supports. The Changing Role of the IT ManagerProcessor Magazine
By - Sixto OrtizAs regulations proliferate and compliance pressures increase, the role of the IT manager is also evolving into that of an agent of regulatory compliance. Dr. Mickey S. Zandi, managing principal at SunGard Availability Services (www.availability.sungard.com), says data center managers are not shielded from business demands because they are responsible for running mission-critical applications that cannot suffer downtime. But, he adds, stricter regulations and compliance bring added pressures because downtime can not only cause operational hiccups but also lead to lawsuits and regulatory issues. Helping Ensure Security and Compliance throughout an OrganizationTMCnet
By - Christopher Burgher, Associate Principal Information Security Practice, Center of Excellence, Consulting Services at SunGard Availability ServicesThere are several actions that can be taken in parallel and it should be noted that ensuring security and compliance is an ongoing process, not a single action. As an organization improves its security and compliance posture, processes can be institutionalized and improved over time. SunGard launches ‘Continuity Management Solution’Continuity Central
By - StaffSunGard Availability Services has introduced its new Continuity Management Solution (CMS) to the North American market. CMS is a centralized platform that unites SunGard’s full suite of business continuity management software. Employers Play Dr. Mom to Limit Swine Flu ImpactAssociated Press
By - Linda A. Johnson"Large and mid-sized organizations are not going to go bankrupt. Small organizations, that could be different," says Jim MacMicking of business continuity consultants SunGard Availability Services. Virtualized Disaster Recovery: Obvious Benefits, Hidden ObstaclesVirtual Strategy Magazine
By - Don Norbeck, Director, Product Development, SunGard Availability ServicesThere are plenty of considerations and trade-offs to be made when selecting the best disaster recovery solution for your physical and virtual environments and disaster recovery plan objectives. The good news is there are many options that can effectively meet your objectives, as well as providers which offer pre-integrated solutions combining virtualization and remote data replication technologies to make virtual disaster recovery feasible and practical for organizations. Data Center PodsProcessor Magazine
By - Sixto OrtizDavid Matusow, architect for Availability Services Consulting at SunGard Availability Services (www.availability.sungard.com) says data center pods can provide a much more cost-effective method of providing services using just-in-time provisioning. In a pod arrangement, he adds, various utilities such as power, communications, and waste handling are fed to the external facility, while the inside consists of a set of containers that are added as needed. SunGard Availability Services Data Center Consulting Guides Successful Consolidation And Migration Project At Whitney National BankContinuity Central
By - StaffSunGard Availability Services Data Center Consulting played a lead role in helping Whitney National Bank redesign and improve its information technology infrastructure. Working with SunGard Data Center Consulting, Whitney found it could reduce costs and create data center efficiencies by moving production and back-up systems from a third-party services provider to available space at the Whitney Data Center in Prattville, Ala. This initiative involved migrating hundreds of physical and virtual server environments, including online banking production systems and back-up for all core systems outside of mainframe operations, as well as storage and networking equipment. Recover From A Flooded Data CenterProcessor Magazine
By - Elizabeth MillardPart of any disaster plan involving a secondary site should include the understanding of the interdependencies of systems and applications, notes Dr. Mickey S. Zandi, managing principal at SunGard Availability Services (www.availability.sungard.com). Next year is THE year for cloud computingZDNet
By - Indu Kodukula, executive vice president of Products and chief technology officer for SunGard Availability ServicesYogi Berra had it right - it’s difficult to make predictions, especially about the future. It’s especially difficult to make predictions about the future in a new, industry-changing discipline like cloud computing. Still, since that’s the task at hand, here is my view on how cloud computing is likely to transform the computing industry landscape in 2010. From Standstill to Still in BusinessAPICS Magazine (Not available online)
By - Christopher WrightOnce such software package is Incident Manager powered by WebEOC powered by SunGard Availability Services (acquired from Strohl Systems and developed in conjunction with Esi). Turley tells the story of a SunGard client whose manufacturing and distribution facilities were struck by wildfires in the western United States. The company had to shut down operations temporarily, relocate employees, and restart business processes elsewhere. In effect, Incident Manger moved the situation room online, enabling executives and other responders to follow events and make their reports from wherever they had Internet access. H1N1 planning: Is IT really prepared?NetworkWorld
By - StaffCompanies have been planning for a possible H1N1 pandemic for about a year now, but are companies really prepared for possible impact on employees, remote access and other emotional issues? Keith Shaw talks with James MacMicking from SunGard Availability Services about possible issues that could come up very soon for IT. Podcast with Keith Shaw and Jim MacMicking Hot Sites and Warm Sites: Choosing the Right Option for Your Disaster Recovery PlanSearchDisasterRecovery
By - Garry KranzAlthough these distinctions are noteworthy, getting bogged down in buzzwords isn't helpful. The proper question to ask isn't whether you should use a hot site vs. a warm site, said Bill Hughes, director of consulting services for disaster recovery with SunGard Availability Services in Wayne, Pa. Flu-Related Telecommuting Could Clog Web Traffic, Feds WarnTechNewsWorld
By - Pam Baker"ISPs build and provision their networks based on average traffic loads, which can accommodate peaks which they may have estimated for 'normal' times," Jim Grogan, vice president of consulting and software product marketing at SunGard Availability Services, told TechNewsWorld. "In the face of a pandemic and a surge of remote/home workers, the network traffic patterns will be anything but normal." How Should My Organization Respond to the Current H1N1 Outbreak?Continuity e-GUIDE
By - Bill HughesThere should never be a sense of panic in a crisis – that’s why you plan in advance. In the face of increased public health concerns over the potential for the H1N1 (“swine flu”) situation to significantly impact our society and businesses, now is the time for a sense of urgency. Although your organization may have developed a plan focusing on avian flu (H5N1) and the characteristics of this situation differ, the core elements of your plan are likely applicable. So use your plan! Five Key Considerations for Disaster Recovery PlanningIt Business Edge
By - Brian TurleyA recent survey, commissioned by SunGard Availability Services and conducted by Harris Interactive, found that disaster recovery planning is a priority for many organizations. Eighty-six percent of IT executives said they have a disaster recovery plan in place at their organization. While the economy has impacted IT budgets overall, 43 percent of IT respondents indicated the economy has not impacted their disaster recovery investment (including planning) - with another 33 percent saying investment in disaster recovery has become more important. Getting it Right the First TimeDisaster Recovery Journal (Not available online)
By - Bill HughesNo two organizations are the same. Each has unique objectives, challenges and opportunities and thus needs solutions that fit it exactly. Where most organizations are the same, however, is in their desire to focus the right level of effort in the right area at the right time-- to ensure that expanding limited resources brings the most benefits. If an organization wants to "laser focus" on the most optimal solution it needs to understand what the threats are that are challenging to its survival, what the organization's capabilities are and where they want to be. Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Strategies for Natural DisastersSearchDisasterRecovery
By - Matt BolchThe key to an effective disaster recovery plan for natural disasters on a limited budget is to conduct a risk assessment, focusing on those scenarios most likely to impact your business, said William Hughes, director, consulting services BC/DR Center of Excellence at SunGard Availability Services. Lessons from DEFCON 17: What Have They Broken Into Now?TMCnet
By - Richard ReesTypically, one goes to DEFCON to get the scoop – what’s going on, what’s going to be compromised, and what the security industry should worry about in 18 months. At least, that’s the justification for four days in Las Vegas that appears on corporate training request lists. There is always the unforeseen that makes for entertaining stories – this year it was the thieves that picked the wrong time to put a fake ATM in the lobby next to thousands of curious security practitioners. Data Builds Out in a Perfect MatchInformation Management
By - Jim EricsonThe best partnerships in business and technology are often those where growth meets growth. Such is the case with two very unlike companies: global shipping/logistics provider BDP International and its data center and service partner SunGard Availability Services, a key subsidiary of Fortune 500 SunGard Data Systems. --Case study with SunGard Availability Services and BDP International Managing the H1N1 CrisisRedmond Channel Partner
By - Joanna L. Krotz"A pandemic event is unlike any technology disaster," pointed out Bill Hughes, director of consulting services at SunGard Availability Services, an IT solutions provider based in Wayne, Pa. "Systems will continue running although there may be a degradation of performance over time as maintenance and infrastructure weaknesses develop owing to a lack of preventive maintenance and on-site support staff." Building On The RecoveryProcessor Magazine
By - Sixto OrtizAnother key technology trend involves the use of modular design for data center construction. Dr. Mickey S. Zandi, a data center and information availability expert and consultant with Sungard Availability Services (www.availability.sungard.com), says organizations today are taking a more budget-friendly approach by designing and building data centers in modularized phases. This approach, he adds, allows organizations to address their current needs and then add space and capacity as requirements change over time. BCM: Some Lead, While Others FollowInformation Management Magazine
By - Steve KokolWhat motivates an organization to adopt a business continuity program? Why do some organizations lead while others follow in this important discipline? Why do some companies build a sophisticated, mature business continuity management program while others simply skim the surface regarding business continuity program? These and other questions related to BCM are driven by a number of factors including standards and regulations as well as organizational and human factors. --Article authored by Steve Kokol, Vice President of International Sales, SunGard Availability Services D.C.-Area Executives Plan Ahead for Swine Flu OutbreakWashington Business Journal
By - Jennifer Nycz-ConnerLater this month, the firm will participate in a tabletop exercise led by SunGard Availability Services LP, an information technology and disaster preparedness company based in Wayne, Pa. In the exercise, executives will be asked to work through a surprise scenario that will limit the law firm’s ability to function. How do you get people to work if Metro is shut down? Do you have everyone’s ZIP codes to run possible car pool lists? PCI DSS Update Could Include Virtualization SecurityDarkReading
By - Kelly Jackson HigginsAmong some of technical issues are segmentation of the network, encryption, how having virtualization or not will affect PCI compliance, says Richard Rees, security solutions director for SunGard Availability Services, and a contributor to the PCI virtualization working group. "Answering questions such as are all virtual machines on the same hypervisor as cardholder data VMs in scope; 'does virtualization violate the 'one primary function per server' tenet; and do virtual switches and virtual security appliances truly segment virtual environments on the same hypervisor, are all things we are looking to the PCI Council, technical working group, and virtualization SIG to help answer," Rees says. "At this point, that's open to the interpretation of each QSA.” PCI Virtualization SIG Closer to Proposing Changes to StandardSeachSecurity
By - Robert WesterveltThe PCI Virtualization Special Interest Group is trying to find consensus before proposing ways to add the technology to the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS). The group is meeting this week at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, where the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) is holding its North American Community meeting. The Virtualization SIG consists of certified quality security assessors, auditors, vendors, merchants and banks. In this interview, Richard Rees, security solution director at SunGard Availability Services and member of the Virtualization SIG, explains some of the challenges ahead for the group and how PCI DSS could soon address virtualization. Five Key Considerations in Disaster Recovery PlanningContinuity Central
By - StaffAdvice for those new to the subject from SunGard Availability Services: Business and technology environments are more complex than ever and the reliance on information technology is firmly entrenched in the success factors of most organizations. Being prepared to respond to situations - both planned and unexpected - that threaten to disrupt essential business systems and processes, is a major corporate concern. Mobile Workers & the Web Snarl DR PlansInternet Evolution
By - Mary E. Shacklett“The home-based and mobile workers change the dynamics of disaster recovery,” says Bill Hughes, a director of consulting services for DR service provider SunGard Availability Services. “Many businesses think that they can simply send people home during a disaster, and that these people can continue to work.” Five Steps To Improving Business ContinuityContinuity e-GUIDE
By - Brian TurleyNow is the time for organizations to re-examine their business continuity plans. By doing so, they can reduce the downside risk of interrupted business processes and prepare to utilize the upside potential and competitive advantage of continuous operations. -- Written by: Brian Turley, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Software Solutions, SunGard Availability Services Ready For Regulation?Processor
By - Jean ThilmanyThe Green Grid (www.thegreengrid.org) is also a good resource for following pending legislation, says Steve Buckus, vice president of operations recovery services at SunGard Availability Services (www.availability.sungard.com). The Green Grid is a consortium of IT companies looking to improve energy efficiency in data centers. As such, the organization is good about keeping members up-to-date on how energy regulation might affect them, Buckus says. When Space Becomes ScarceProcessor
By - Christian PerryDr. Mickey S. Zandi, Ph.D., managing principal of SunGard Availability Services’ Consulting Group (www.availability.sungard.com), recommends that data centers remove all noncritical components from the data center, including printers, copiers, and any storage spaces. Further, he says that office spaces can be remotely relocated, and data center support staff should be relocated to office space outside of the data center with remote access. Online Backup Provider, SunGard, to Demonstrate New Business Continuity SolutionsOnline Backup Review
By - StaffAt a time when the H1N1 flu outbreak has brought the need for business continuity and pandemic planning to the forefront, SunGard Availability Services will gather with CIOs, IT professionals and crisis management leaders to discuss the importance of business continuity at one of the world's largest business continuity/disaster recovery conferences, DRJ Fall World 2009. The conference will take place on September 13-16, 2009 in San Diego, Calif. Not just W.Va.: Government a growing target for scammers, experts sayCharleston Gazette
By - Alison KnezevichExperts say West Virginia is part of a growing trend nationwide. Over the past few years, cyber crime activity has tripled, said Jim Grogan, vice president at SunGard Availability Services in Wayne, Pa. Scammers pursue government agencies because of their constant interaction with the public and the enormous amount of information they store. It's usually an organized effort and is often hosted overseas, he said. Many of today's scams use electronic means to carry out age-old methods of fraud, such as payment diversions. Planning for People in Disaster PreparednessData Center Journal
By - Kim SkratskyWhen I speak with individuals from other companies regarding business continuity (BC) and disaster recovery (DR) planning, I like to ask, “What is your objective for having a BC/DR plan?” Common answers given are “To keep systems up and running through a crisis” or “To restore business operations by recovering and restoring systems.” It is interesting that most answers clearly point to the fact that, to date, the focus of planning has centered around protecting the data center and the systems assets within it – first and foremost. -- Written by Kim Skratsky, director of product management for SunGard Availability Services SunGard Builds Grid From DR WorkstationsData Center Knowledge
By - Rich MillerAs a disaster recovery specialist, Sungard Availability Services has an armada of workstations in its facilities for that “what if” moment, ready to provide an instant operations center in the event a disaster affects a client. But what about the rest of the time? Video Primer on Disaster Recovery Planning Best PracticesContinuity Central
By - StaffSunGard Availability Services has published a video resource which highlights the main aspects of disaster recovery planning best practices. It covers: - The importance of a good DR plan - The biggest IT challenges - Key players in creating your plan - Two steps to an effective plan - Updating your plan - Testing your plan - Working with service providers - DR is more than just IT Go to http://ow.ly/krfo to view. Seven Tips to Make the Value Case for Disaster RecoverySearchCIO
By - Linda Tucci"You can't focus on everything, given the economic constraints," said Bill Hughes, director of consulting services at SunGard Availability Services LP. Do you really need to have a clustered environment in your recovery environment? Or 10 Web servers? A risk assessment will help CIOs focus on what they absolutely need to mitigate the core risk and, if necessary, defer the rest. Hurricanes sound scary, Hughes said, but if you have certain preventive risk controls, what is the chance of the hurricane impacting you? Business resiliency is a preventive risk control. Outsourcing Disaster Recovery Services for SMBs: DR for the MassesSeachSMBStorage
By - Sandra GittlenSome SMBs that have high risk and demanding RTOs, such as banks or online retailers, sign on with high-end disaster recovery providers that offer server collocation, service-level agreements and other enterprise-class services. "According to the 2007 Best's Underwriting Guide, only 6% of companies that suffer catastrophic data loss survive, while 43% never re-open and 51% close within two years of the disaster," said Jim Olson, vice president of solutions engineering and training at SunGard Availability Services. Growing A Data Center On A BudgetProcessor Magazine
By - William Van WinkleSunGard Availability Services (www.availability.sungard.com) is one of the largest IT services companies, but even SunGard notes that enterprises feeling a resource pinch should not offload all or even most of their data center needs to a provider. Mickey Zandi, Ph.D., managing principal of consulting services at SunGard, advises existing resource consolidation before anything else, and only then, if power and cooling resources still prove insufficient, should mission-critical systems be offloaded to a services provider. Top 10 Tips for a successful Data Center Migration projectData Center Journal
By - StaffCompanies that consider a technology migration as a “planned disaster” are starting the project off on the right foot. There are many parallel best practices between establishing an effective business continuity plan in case of a disaster and managing a major migration project. SunGard Availability Services recommends enterprises consider the following top 10 tips to keep their migration projects on track and to help minimize the business impact of the move. -- Article by Mickey Zandi, Ph.D., Availability Consulting Services for SunGard Availability Services Virtualization Makes Disaster Recovery CheaperEnterprise Storage Forum
By - John P. Mello Jr."We've leveraged virtualization in a shared pool model to take advantage of the good things about virtualization, but in a way that helps minimize the cost of a secondary data center," said Don Norbeck, SunGard's director of product strategy and virtualization technology officer. Identify The Top Web Threats To Your EnterpriseProcessor Magazine
By - Robyn WeismanInternet access requires a host of devices, such as routers, switches, and firewalls, to route Internet traffic and defend networks. If these devices are not properly installed, hackers can exploit weaknesses caused by these configurations to access and steal information, says Christopher Burgher, associate principal of availability services consulting at SunGard Availability Services (www.availability.sungard.com). FMS Solutions selects Secure2Disk online backup and recovery from SunGardSearchDataBackup
By - StaffFMS Solutions Inc., an accounting and consulting service provider to independent retail grocers, has selected SunGard Availability Services' Secure2Disk to provide online backup and recovery services. FMS is deploying SunGard's Secure2Disk to support critical business applications including accounting, payroll, reporting tools and email. SunGard will also provide recovery services for FMS' IBM iSeries and Intel servers, which will allow information to be restored to a SunGard recovery environment if an outage occurs. Disaster Recovery Services Options for Smaller Businesses on a BudgetSearch CIO Midmarket
By - Linda TucciFor companies that can stomach that RTO, buying standard recovery services at a secondary site is "a perfectly viable" option, said Jim Olson, vice president, solutions engineering and training at SunGard Availability Services. SunGard's monthly fees for Intel servers can range from $100 to several thousand dollars, depending on the number and type of Intel servers, Olson said. SunGard Availability Services, Phoenix Health Systems Join ForcesDisaster Recovery Journal (Not available online)
By - StaffSunGard Availability Services has partnered with Phoenix Health Systems, a national provider of healthcare IT outsourcing, consulting and revenue cycle management solutions, to help hospitals improve information availability for electronic medical records (EMR) and other technologies essential to quality of care. Together, SunGard and Phoenix will help community hospitals by developing and executing cost-effective business continuity plans that address requirements to access critical data in the event of an IT systems outage as well as providing industry leading staffing and application support. The Essentials of Disaster RecoveryCS Techcast Podcast
By - StaffThis week the focus is on disaster recovery; the planning, the technology, and what you should be doing with Don Norbeck, Technology Officer of Virtualization, Cloud Computing and Product Strategy at SunGard. Find more information at www.availability.sungard.com. In the news we discuss Windows Server 2008 and Windows 7 going RTM, Yahoo's further discussion about some sort of Microsoft deal, IT is shown to be failing in 25% of small businesses, and a zero-day vulnerabilities found in Adobe's Flash player. The EU's strange requirement of a menu of browsers for Windows 7 gets "The Worst Tech of the Week", we take "A Closer Look" at Hyper-V 2.0, and a pointer about Remote Desktop Protocol getting cutoff during a Forefront installation in "The Weekly Tech Tip". -- Interview with Don Norbeck, Technology Officer of Virtualization, Cloud Computing and Product Strategy at SunGard Availability Services Tech Data Offers VARs SunGard Managed Backup and Recovery ServicesMSPmentor
By - John MooreBusiness continuity services continue to be a hot ticket in the managed services market. The latest example: Tech Data Corp. resellers will be able to provide SunGard Availability Services’ managed backup and disaster recovery offerings under a new distribution agreement between the firms. Refreshing Your Servers Leads to Data Center Energy SavingsIDG Accelerate
By - Sandra Gittlen“It may be tempting to delay a server refresh because the cost seems high compared to older platforms and standard configurations, but that is deceptive and leads to the misuse of energy resources,” says Mickey S. Zandi, Ph.D, managing principal at SunGard Availability Services' Consulting Group, in Wayne, Pa. SunGard Exec Says Storage will be ‘Final Domino’ in Cloud InteroperabilitySearchStorage
By - Beth PariseauSS: What kinds of things will the incubator be defining? What does it have to do with SunGard’s disaster recovery business?
Norbeck: Our first hypothesis is that there are going to be hundreds of different clouds out there with different characteristics - some optimized for speed, some for cost and some for availability. The cloud will serve two purposes: avoiding downtime and the expansion of infrastructure for peak demand. How much capacity you can spin up and how quickly you can fail over to a cloud data center depends on an up-front information exchange between the end user and the provider to tell how much and what to spin up for true application portability.
-- Q&A with Director Product Strategy, Virtualization Technology Officer at SunGard Availability Services, Don Norbeck
Tips for Improving Information AvailabilityByte and Switch
By - Mike Fratto"Today's competitive, regulated, and economically stressed marketplace means businesses may be living on a razor's edge where they have to meet increased demands with decreasing resources," said Bill Hughes, director of SunGard Availability Services' Business Continuity/Disaster Recovery Center of Excellence. "Organizations must focus on understanding the full spectrum of technology risks to key business processes and the challenges they create in order to make informed decisions regarding mitigation, acceptance or deferral of risk." SunGard Availability Services launches Storage Optimization ServiceContinuity Central
By - StaffWith the goal of a proactive and efficient data center in mind, SunGard Availability Services' consulting practice has developed a five-step storage optimization service that helps organizations reclaim valuable storage capacity while meeting their information availability goals. Industry Pulse: BDP Int'l. Selects SunGard to Provide Managed Hosting for Global Data CenterDisaster Resource e-GUIDE
By - StaffBDP International, a leading global logistics and transportation management organization, has selected SunGard Availability Services to provide AdvancedHosting managed services to help ensure worldwide, uninterrupted access to its corporate information systems. SunGard will host BDP's Global Data Center - the organization's primary suite of IT infrastructure hardware and software applications - in its new managed services facility in Philadelphia. Calling IT to Action for Disaster Recovery PlanningZDnet
By - Patrick Doherty, executive vice president and chief marketing officer These survey results show IT and business decision-makers really want the same things – to avoid lost productivity and negative impact on customer satisfaction that can result from unplanned outages. But there is a meaningful gap between these groups on how to achieve that goal. Automation Tools to Drive Cloud Computing JourneyServerWatch
By - Amy NewmanDon Norbeck, technology officer for virtualization, cloud computing and product strategy SunGard Availability Services, told ServerWatch that the study found virtualization to have moved from being accepted in test and dev to being deployed for applications where it was well suited, to being considered for deployment for all applications except for those where it is unsuitable. ERP SaaS: Three Moves Worth NotingMSPmentor
By - John MooreSunGard had been offering SAP services prior to certification. The company formalized its managed SAP services offering in January 2007, according to Janel Ryan, product manager at SunGard Availability Services. SunGard acquired a company a few years ago that extends its experience in managing SAP environments dating back to 1998. Will Cap and Trade Policy Devastate Data Centers?AFCOM
By - Gail DuttonHowever, data centers need not be new to realize cost-effective physical changes. When SunGard Availability Services, headquartered in Wayne, Pa., undertook an outside energy audit of its suburban Chicago and Atlanta data centers, it received numerous recommendations, according to Robert Salvatore, director of infrastructure compliance and green initiatives. SunGard is implementing some of those recommendations now. If they are as effective as expected, Salvatore predicts they will be applied in SunGard's more than 65 U.S. facilities. SAP Certifies SunGard as a Hosting Partner in USWeb Hosting Info
By - StaffSunGard Availability Services, a provider of disaster recovery services, managed IT services, information availability consulting services and business continuity management software, has been certified by SAP AG today, to provide hosting services for SAP applications and is now an SAP hosting partner in the U.S. The company says that the certification was awarded following an assessment of its infrastructure, procedures and technical staff by SAP. As a SAP hosting partner and an SAP-certified provider of hosting services, it avers that its services are in line with SAP's requirements for quality, availability and security. Disaster Recovery News Briefs: SunGard Survey Says Virtualization has a Role in Disaster RecoverySearchdisasterrecovery
By - StaffA new survey "The 2009 State of Disaster Recovery" commissioned by SunGard Availability Services and conducted by Harris Interactive said virtualization can play a major role in disaster recovery. Seventy-four percent of IT respondents said virtualization has a role in DR, but it's not a total solution for disaster recovery plans. One-quarter of IT respondents said they would never include virtualization technologies in their disaster recovery plans. Virtualization and Disaster Recovery: Survey ResultsContinuity Central
By - StaffIn the survey, commissioned by SunGard Availability Services, 74 percent of IT respondents indicate that virtualization can play a major role but is not a total solution for disaster recovery plans. One-quarter of IT respondents say they would never include virtualization technologies in their disaster recovery plans. Survey of IT Execs: Virtualization No Panacea for Data RecoveryeWeek
By - Chris Preimesberger"The Achilles heel of many virtualized IT environments is they depend on a single data center to execute system failover should an outage occur," said Don Norbeck, technology officer at SunGard Availability Services. "A recovery strategy with no off-site data center can result in no recovery." Business Executives Don't Tie Disaster Recovery Efforts to Business Success, Study RevealsEnterprise Systems Journal
By - James PowellCommissioned by SunGard Availability Services and performed by Harris Interactive, the survey found that although 83 percent IT decision-makers (of 220 qualified respondents) and 78 percent of business decision-makers (of 277 respondents) acknowledge the importance of information availability to business success, only 74 percent of IT executives and 49 percent of business executives say disaster recovery and business continuity are similarly important. SunGard customer win: managed hosting for a managed data centerTier1Research
By - Antonio PirainoManaged hoster and colocation provider SunGard Availability Services has landed a large managed hosting deal in the form of BDP International, a global logistics and transportation management organization. SunGard will provide BDP with what it calls AdvancedHosting, or what others might term a hybrid hosting approach, for BDP's Global Data Center. Survey Highlights Disconnect Between IT and Business Executives When it Comes to Business Continuity and DRContinuity Central
By - Staff“The survey shows IT and business decision-makers really want the same things – to avoid lost productivity and negative impact on customer satisfaction that can result from unplanned outages,” said Patrick Doherty, executive vice president and chief marketing officer at SunGard Availability Services. “But there is a meaningful gap between these groups on how to achieve that goal. It is largely because the business is not connecting the requirement to keep core IT systems and applications available with overall company success. IT systems are still viewed as a ‘black box’ to many business executives, especially when it comes to the dependency between systems that impact overall availability.” Projects: Disaster Recovery Slideshow: Business and IT Disagree on Disaster RecoveryBaseline
By - StaffIn a poll of IT executives and line-of-business leaders, a recent "State of Disaster Recovery" survey found that each group still has its own ideas about business continuity. Conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of SunGard Availability Services, results show what IT workers are up against when it comes to advocating disaster recovery activities. IT Management Slideshow: Business and IT Disagree on Disaster RecoveryCIO Insight
By - StaffIn a poll of IT executives and line-of-business leaders, a recent "State of Disaster Recovery" survey found that each group still has its own ideas about business continuity. Conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of SunGard Availability Services, results show what IT workers are up against when it comes to advocating disaster recovery activities. Focusing On Budget CutsSecurities Industry News
By - Katherine HeiresDonald Hopkins of SunGard Availability Services said that his presentation would "take a deeper dive into how to reduce costs with a little twist," combining thrifty strategies for disaster recovery efforts with overall cost reduction efforts and advised that attendees at Sifma also need to identify "breakthrough strategies" for better technology management. "Cost reductions can become very addictive," he says, "where you end up always thinking about the next 15 percent to cut." His June 24 presentation will offer breakthrough solutions, such as the use of de-duplication technology as part of one's disaster recovery plan--a technique that removes any duplicate data prior to compression and thus, Hopkins argues, can result in significant savings. SunGard Provides Hosting to BDP InternationalWeb Host Industry Review
By - David HamiltonAccording to SunGard's Thursday announcement, BDP will be using SunGard's AdvancedHosting, delivered at its newly opened managed services facility in Philadelphia, which combines a redundant backbone network with secure, always available hosting facilities and equipment. SunGard Launches Secure2DiskContinuity Central
By - StaffSecure2Disk from SunGard Availability Services delivers a new disk-based, online backup and recovery solution for organizations looking to improve the reliability of both operational backup and off-site recovery of their IT systems. Before the data is transmitted to SunGard’s secure storage facility, Secure2Disk de-duplicates the data to reduce network bandwidth and storage consumption, and encrypts the information before it leaves the customer’s data center to help ensure security. Only the customer has access to its information. Customers can monitor the status of the Secure2Disk environment and restore any files on a 24/7 basis. SunGard Launches Secure2Disk Online Backup SolutionIT Jungle
By - Alex WoodieWhat separates SunGard's new Secure2Disk offerings from these VTLs and D2D systems is SunGard's expertise in disaster recovery services, and its considerable investment in data centers, servers, and personnel. Instead of requiring a customer to move its data offsite and have a second data center that can support the customer in the event of a disaster--or to provision new servers and office space on short notice--the use of SunGard's facilities and personnel is part and parcel of the Secure2Disk offering. In that respect, Secure2Disk is very different from your basic VTL offering. Recent Announcements From:InfoStor
By - StaffSunGard Availability Services is now offering a disk-based, online backup and recovery service dubbed SunGard Secure2Disk. Secure2Disk backs data up to an onsite SunGard appliance, which be used as an online and off-site vault to protect information. Before the data is transmitted to SunGard, Secure2Disk deduplicates the data to reduce network bandwidth and storage consumption, and encrypts the information before it leaves the customer's datacenter. Firm Moves From Tape Backup to Managed Backup and Recovery ServiceSearchCIO
By - Linda TucciHaving an appliance at the local site -- a feature not offered by all providers -- gives the ability to back up and restore data at land speed, instead of over the Internet, Couture said. A second copy is stored far away. Vendors like IBM have realized that they can turn their off-site storage services into disaster recovery services by adding a recovery option. And just yesterday, the SunGard Availability Services unit of SunGard Data Systems Inc. announced Secure2Disk, a new disk-based, online backup and recovery service that also offers an on-premise appliance. SunGard Secure2Disk Provides Online Backup and Recovery ServicesByte and Switch
By - Paul TravisProtecting business information from routine incidents, such as hardware and power outages, viruses, accidental deletions and application failures, as well as ensuring that information is available despite natural disasters is a continuous challenge for IT organizations. Secure2Disk from SunGard Availability Services delivers a new disk-based, online backup and recovery solution for organizations looking to improve the reliability of both operational backup and off-site recovery of their IT systems. Vendor NotebookHealthcareITNews
By - Eric WicklundSunGard Availability Services of Wayne, Pa., has announced a partnership with Phoenix Health Systems, a national provider of healthcare IT outsourcing, consulting and revenue cycle management solutions, to deliver complete software applications and infrastructure management for community hospitals. Improving Business Continuity with SunGardVirtual Strategy Magazine
By - Carryl Roy and Richard EngstromIn this podcast VSM speaks with Richard Engstrom, product manager at SunGard Availability Services, about maintaining information availability and improving business continuity. SunGard Builds SaaS ConnectionsMSPmentor
By - John MooreSunGard Availability Services is cultivating business among software-as-a-service (SaaS) providers. This week, the company reported HarrisData as a new customer for its managed services, and more deals seem to be pending. Here’s a quick look at the SaaS strategy. HarrisData Taps SunGard for Hosting ServicesSearchDataCenter
By - Bridget BotelhoHarrisData now uses SunGard Availability Services for managed hosting of its enterprise software applications for HarrisData customers, the companies reported Monday. HarrisData Teams Up with SunGard for HostingIT Jungle
By - Alex WoodieSunGard officials are also in Brookfield this week for the conference. Biff Myre, director of availability solutions for SunGard Availability Services, was scheduled to present a session on iSeries high availability strategies yesterday. "SunGard has extensive experience in addressing the information availability and recovery needs of iSeries customers," Myre says in a press release. Ten Ways to Save on Data Storage CostsEnterprise Storage Forum
By - Drew RobbStorage vendors are willing to deal like never before, so shop around for surprise deals and you might get lucky. For instance, until June 30, SunGard Availability Services is holding a special offer of up to $15,000 for its AdvancedHosting enterprise managed services and colocation solutions. This offer is available at SunGard's facilities in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Toronto and New York. What this means is that if you sign up, they either waive setup fees up to $15,000 or get one month's complimentary service up to that value. Variations of this apply to new or existing customers. The Case for Continuity Management SoftwareBusinessWeek
By - Tracey Forbes, vice-president, product development, SunGard Availability ServicesNo one can control whether or not an organization will be affected by a natural disaster, hardware failure, power outage, or other unplanned incident. But companies can prepare to respond to and recover from such events with minimal impact by creating and keeping business continuity plans. Business continuity management (BCM) software can help with this. Consider how you might use it. Jive's Temporary Cloud OfferingInformationWeek
By - Andrew Conry-Murray"We have a script that lets you grab the entire instance and deploy it wherever you want: it sets up the database and application to your on-premises server or to our hosted infrastructure, which is hosted by SunGard," says Cameron Deatsch, product director at Jive. |
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“One of the strong points is that everything we expected from SunGard, they delivered. They walk the walk.”
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-- Bruce Parkey
VP and CIO, Rapid Solutions Group
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For additional information or media inquiries, please contact:
Valeria Maltoni
Director, Marketing Communications
SunGard Availability Services
866.667.8108
610.225.1132 (fax)
as.communications@sungard.com |
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