‘Dual’ facility ensures business continuity

The freight system specialist, Compu- Clearing, has invested over R3-million in a disaster-prevention exercise. Although the word disaster normally refers to major natural events like hurricanes or earthquakes, a disaster for a business can often come from something apparently more minor, like powerouts or theft of computers, according to sales and marketing executive, Nachi Mendelow. “With such an event, a company can totally lose its business continuity,” he told FTW. “When that happens, they find themselves in a situation where they are unable to work. “And the disaster here is that for the company it’s a case of no work no income.” When a disaster does occur, Mendelow added, it is important that a complete Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP) is in place. “So, whatever the disaster,” he said, “and whether it occurs at the customer or at Compu- Clearing itself, we are committed to ensuring business continuity.” All the data is stored on Compu-Clearing’s central database servers, so – even if a client’s computers disappear – no data is lost. Also, Compu- Clearing will immediately provide replacement machines. And, since these servers are all internetenabled both locally and internationally, customers are able to log into their unique database from any place, anywhere in the world, with a basic internet connection. “This internet connectivity also helps to address issues like power-outs,” Mendelow added. “Clients can go to any place where there is an internet connection and continue their work. This not only resolves electricity issues but also allows our customers to take work home with them for completion, when necessary.” Probably the most significant feature of the DRP is that Compu- Clearing has also now built a “Dual” facility – where all the servers are duplicated in a separate building. “This means that if one of the buildings goes down, the second data centre will take over,” Mendelow said. “All data is also backed up onto magnetic tapes that are taken off-site daily.” To complete the solution, Compu-Clearing has also built a customer care centre – with training rooms, meeting rooms and an auditorium. “These rooms can be used by our customers to continue their work,” said Mendelow, “and almost daily we have people using our facilities to frame entries.”