DCM1.3. How To Find The Right Provider For Your Disaster Recovery Needs. Jake Sherrill, CEO, Tier 4 Advisors

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1 DCM1.3 How To Find The Right Provider For Your Disaster Recovery Needs. Jake Sherrill, CEO, Tier 4 Advisors

2 DCM1.3 How To Find The Right Provider For Your Disaster Recovery Needs. This session will explain how to find the right provider for your DR needs, no matter where in the world you are located. You will learn when and where to "pull strings" during negotiations, and in which areas a small-enterprise company can save by using a boutique vs. a tier 1 provider in the US, Asia, South America, Europe or anywhere else for that matter.

3 Does my organization really need a DR plan? Are we still having this conversation? Of course you do - it s a necessity. On average, global organizations are losing more than 127,000,000 person hours a year through lost employee productivity during I.T. downtime. Friday, August 16th Amazon.com Goes Down, Loses $66,240 Per Minute $1,987,200

4 Key Areas of Focus Assessment Strategy Market and Providers Value Vetting Negotiations Making the Decision

5 Assessment Knowing what you need A true assessment for your DR needs is needed at the very beginning so you know which strategy works best for you Internally Third Party Cost of Outsourced Architecture A true assessment for your DR needs is needed at the very beginning so you know which strategy works best for you Pinching Pennies - not all systems need to be in your disaster recovery solution How Will You Migrate - migration and implementation must be factored into your solution. Rollout and Implementation is usually not factored into the monthly recurring cost of a disaster recovery plan Internal vs. External = Dollars vs. Time which is really hidden Dollars

6 Strategy DR in the cloud or DR colocation site If, Then, Else IF there is a chance (everyone should be saying YES) that you'll one day want to look into cloud services for DR THEN you should look at providers who offer colocation and cloud services ELSE select a provider who only offers colocation

7 Strategy (Continued) Compliance Make sure your solution meets your compliance requirements. Physical Location Do you need a provider outside your city limits but less than an hour drive? Do you want a provider on the other side of the state, region, or country? Make sure this aligns with overall business goals and/or compliance.

8 Strategy (Continued) DR plan is a living document Create a formal plan. Use it. If it collects dust then when a disaster hits, chances are you will be out of a job. Are executives immune to being fired after a disaster? Ask the board or shareholders if they agree in immunity.

9 Market and Providers Know which providers are in the area (geographic location) of your DR site Pick a market with the following Good pricing A competitive landscape, Allows for easy travel (direct flights & plenty of hotels to stay in) Inexpensive power Why is power important? Higher density computing Legacy data centers are filled with whitespace due to lack of power.

10 Market and Providers (Continued) If your DR requirement is 1500 miles away from your primary, we recommend Choose 3 markets in that distance zone that are in that 1500 mile range Do Your Research Understand Local Weather Patterns Understand Flood History and Flood Lines Learn About Security Issues Past Power Outages Ease of Travel Cost Comparison of Manpower EPA Regulations (Generally hike up prices that are passed on to you)

11 Value Big Guys vs. Boutique Some companies need to use a Top Tier, Tier3+ brand name type of facility. Others can get away with using a smaller boutique firm that's focused on being flexible and more customer service focused. By this point, you probably already know what type/size DR firm your company is comfortable working with and you can decide if you're going to work with a Digital Reality Trust, T5, or Sunguard Lume, Digitel, or Peak10

12 Vetting Phase 1: Your Time is Valuable, Avoid the minutia Start with a First pass quote Start with GENERAL requirements Vendors will drain your time. Don t spend your time with every possible provider explaining all the details. Give general specifications and so you can compare apples to apples 8-12 providers so you understand who's affordable and who's completely out of line with your budget Phase 2: In depth performance and detail Historic Outages Security Breaches Cost Information Regarding Price Increases Or Decreases Understanding Maintenance Practices Of Facility/Provider Infrastructure Details

13 Negotiations - a.k.a. The Magic Time There is more to negotiate than price You can negotiate anything and everything you want. Ask for what you need Chilled water to the floor in suite that currently doesn't have it Different fire system Your own entrance Retinal scanners vs. Finger print biometrics

14 Negotiations - a.k.a. The Magic Time (Continued) Set up fees and 2nd pass quote, you never know unless you ask Ask the provider to give you a 33% discount on the MRR Remove setup fees Terms Terms often play a huge role in selecting the final provider. 1, 3, 5, 10 year term Can you afford it?

15 Decision Time Take your top 3-5 from the original Meet with your team (both internal and consultants) Evaluate all pros and cons from each provider

16 Decision Time (Continued) Competition is Good It's like the old Lending Tree commercial that used to say "When banks compete, you win. Well, in the data center world and as far as Tier4 is concerned, "When data center/cloud providers compete, you win. Get on a conference call first with each provider If you can meet with each of the top three providers. Face time is often a deciding factor.

17 Final Thoughts Stop Playing Russian Roulette Not a matter of if, it is a matter of when. Don t get struck with decision paralysis. A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week. - George S. Patton

18 Questions?

19 Thank you Jake Sherrill, CEO, Tier 4 Advisors jake@tier4advisors.com

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