Doubling Up Data
In an effort to gain more control over its business continuity (BC) preparedness and upgrade its tape-based data recovery systems, Philadelphia-based Gartmore Global Investments (GGI; $85 billion in assets), a mutual fund subsidiary of Nationwide Insurance Enterprises (Columbus, Ohio; $157.3 billion in total assets), opted to stop outsourcing its BC functions to SunGard (Wayne, Pa.) and build an in-house system in January 2004. "Outsourcing your disaster recovery function, no matter how reliable the vendor, means waiting in line in the event of a local or regional disaster," explains Paul DeSanctis, disaster and business recovery planning specialist for GGI. "We wanted to make sure that if an interruption in service occurred, whether a GGI issue or a large-scale disaster, we could control the recovery process ourselves."
GGI spent the next couple of months evaluating four vendors, which it declines to name, with the help of consulting firm Entium Technology Partners (Valley Forge, Pa.), a reseller of NSI Software's (Southboro, Mass.) Double-Take data replication solution. "We were looking for a data replication package that was easy to learn, easy to implement and cost effective," says DeSanctis. In May 2004, Entium supervised a Double-Take pilot program at GGI.
The pilot was so successful that GGI chose to implement Double-Take a short time later, relates DeSanctis. Double-Take continuously replicates data in real time from all of a company's systems and encrypts it for added security, according to NSI. It also provides automatic failover capabilities, supplying immediate access to backup data. "It is a server-based program and very well-suited to network operations," DeSanctis adds, noting that the solution is certified for Windows 2003, GGI's existing operating system.
To Protect and to Serve
Because GGI previously used a tape-based recovery system with SunGard, it had to install additional servers to house the replicated data. In October 2004, teams placed two secondary servers, from Dell (Round Rock, Texas) and HP (Palo Alto, Calif.), at two separate office locations in Philadelphia and Columbus, Ohio. "Our main challenge was keeping all project phases in sync," relates DeSanctis. "We were dealing with different teams [and] different suppliers in several different locations in the Northeast and Midwest."
Once the servers were in place, NSI, Entium and GGI spent one day installing the Double-Take software. The implementation was completed by December 2004 and Double-Take began replicating GGI's data onto the two new servers. The data then was replicated onto another server located at a backup recovery site in upstate New York that the company recently obtained for disaster recovery purposes. This site also will act as company office space in the event of a catastrophe, DeSanctis notes.
The implementation cost GGI about $110,000, according to DeSanctis. But because GGI's disaster recovery system now is operated in-house, it is saving money that previously was spent on outsourcing, he says. GGI plans to add Double-Take to five satellite locations in San Diego; Portland, Ore.; Troy, Mich.; and two offices in upstate New Jersey within the next few months.
company
Gartmore Global Investments (Philadelphia; $85 billion in assets).
lines of business
Mutual funds and asset management.
vendor/technology
NSI Software's (Southboro, Mass.) Double-Take data replication software.
Challenge
Implement an in-house business continuity solution.
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