Aberdeen Research: Quantifying Downtime

Disaster recovery is an issue that every data center professional must address but cannot easily justify. With limited budgets and so many initiatives how do you request money for disaster recovery? You will find an answer in this Aberdeen research of 125 organizations, which is enlightening in several respects.

First, it makes the reader consider where they are in terms of their planning. Since the sample of organizations that have near perfect uptime is so minimal (4%), the researchers thought it best that the overall sample be categorized into three subsets: best; industry average and laggards. Using these subsets and applying an annual metric that evaluates lost revenue shows that an organization at the bottom of the spectrum can lose big. Well over 2 million dollars may be lost as opposed to one of the top tier groups.

The paper wraps up with a four point recommended actions list. Simple steps that might mean huge cost savings. So reevaluate your thinking on disaster recovery and read this timely research.