industry news
CIF research highlights
vulnerability concerns
over DR and back up
applications
New research from the Cloud Industry
Forum (CIF) has revealed a distinct lack
of confidence in disaster recovery (DR)
and back up capabilities.
The survey asked participants to
identify which applications represented
the biggest risk to their business in the
event of failure. DR and data back up
services were ranked the highest priority
amongst those surveyed.
But according to Peter Groucutt,
managing director of Databarracks, this
concern is caused by a lack of rigorous
DR testing in the UK, which is leaving
a significant proportion of plans unfit
for purpose. Groucott said, ‘The CIF
research gives an interesting insight into
attitudes towards disaster recovery. While
it is encouraging to see organisations
embracing the business value that DR
brings, it does also suggest that concerns
over the risk and vulnerability of a plan
could be fuelled by a simple lack of
confidence in their ability to execute it.’
Alex Hilton, CEO of CIF, commented,
‘Cloud has moved from the edge of
the IT estate to its centre, and it is now
largely regarded as just another way that
we do IT. The latest CIF research shows
that 51 per cent of organisations are
using cloud based back up or DR, this is
often viewed as a logical first step into
cloud services. Central to the success of
cloud lies in the ability to keep the data
stored in it safe and secure. A data back
up and DR plan is critical but confidence
is key in order for it to be effective
and this can only be achieved through
regular testing.’
6
DatacenterDynamics relocates to
new venue at London’s Old Billingsgate
DatacenterDynamics
has announced its
Europe event is
to take place on
1st-2nd November
in London’s
Old Billingsgate
Market. Themed
‘Zettastructure’, this year’s conference programme will address the stresses and
challenges upon data centre management created by the disaggregation of infrastructure
as we enter the zettabyte era.
George Rockett, CEO, DatacenterDynamics, said, ‘In relocating this year’s event
to the heart of London City, we want to reconnect with an established reputation for
thought leadership and knowledge sharing. As a leading colocation destination, London
is not only a global leader for data centre engineering and operational know-how, it is
also one of the first cities to feel the impact of Zettabyte requirements. Its data centre
community therefore have first-hand experiences to share and discuss.’
Situated on the bank of the River Thames at London Bridge, Old Billingsgate
creates the opportunity for the event activities to continue throughout the two days of
the conference. The venue will play host to both the conference halls and a 40,000ft2
expo including the most innovative technology solutions providers in the digital
infrastructure market.
DATA CENTRES IDEALLY PLACED TO SUPPORT
VIRTUAL BECOMING A REALITY, SAYS AEGIS DATA
The data centre industry has the potential to
be the biggest benefactor from the rise in
virtual reality (VR), representing a significant
driver for business growth, according to
Greg McCulloch, CEO of Aegis Data. But
to achieve this potential, hosts will need to
have confidence that their infrastructure
is able to support the highest levels of
connectivity, storage and qualities of service
these new, immersive experiences are going
to require.
Virtual reality has very much been one
of the hot topics of 2016. In light of ever
growing demands from consumers for richer
audio-visual experiences, combined with
increased competition from big industry
players keen to capture a market very much
in its infancy, research predicts that VR will
reach US$6.7bn in 2016 and potentially
US$70bn by 2020.
Greg McCulloch said, ‘Initially, it will
be the gaming market to benefit most
from the rise in VR but we expect this to
rapidly progress to other industries such as
entertainment, healthcare, military services,
machinery, manufacturing and aerospace,
as well as a host of others. For the data
centre industry, VR’s emergence represents
a huge business growth opportunity and
in order to capture this it’s imperative that
the necessary infrastructure is in place to
support this flourishing marketing.’