Professional skydivers do not make big jumps without carrying a spare parachute on their body in case the first option fails, even though the statistical chances of technical failure in a good quality parachute are practically nonexistent. This safety procedure of always having an essential reserve item ready to be deployed promptly is called redundancy.
In the information technology sector, the strategy is more than valid. It is important to maintain IT asset redundancy as a way to safeguard and guarantee business continuity in cases of technical problems, such as internet outages or checkout control software failures.
Learn more about the concept of IT asset redundancy and see some examples of how it can help prevent losses for companies in the most diverse segments!
The importance of having IT asset redundancy
We are increasingly dependent on computing to perform various processes in professional life. Often, a simple network outage can lead a supermarket to a stage of forced sales downtime. Today, having IT asset redundancy is no longer a luxury, but a necessity. It guarantees system reliability through the duplication of critical components.
Unplanned outages are mainly caused by: hardware or physical failure in important parts, software or logical failure, and human error. The probability of these failures occurring when we invest in IT asset redundancy is minimized. They cannot always be predicted in time to prevent them from happening, so it is essential to have “aces up your sleeve” the moment the unexpected happens.
It has never been more important for an IT manager to ensure the continuity of the system and other information technology assets. Today, they are essential for the evolution and development of a company.
However, current information systems are made up of mechanical components of insufficient reliability most of the time. To avoid unscheduled downtime in commercial activities, it is important to rely on an IT asset redundancy system that will automatically kick in after one of the main components in use fails.
High availability system
A computer system capable of withstanding hardware, software, and power failures. It guarantees the maintenance of activities for as long as possible, so that neither the company nor its customers and employees are harmed.
Contingency
This strategy is also known as a Disaster Recovery Plan. It is a process that must be triggered as a last resort when all system redundancies fail and the store needs to have its activities interrupted.
The main objective of a contingency plan is to reduce the negative impact in case of major technical problems that affect the continuity of key activities.
A simple example is the case of a supermarket. If any event prevents the company from selling products, this event is considered a disaster. They can be motivated by the most diverse causes, ranging from the malfunction of some hardware component to natural catastrophes, such as floods.
The consequences can range from the interruption of activities for a few hours to damage so great that it would make the company’s continuity unviable. Having an action plan for these moments is fundamental to avoid the worst and not fall into despair.
The process of preparing a disaster recovery plan begins with identifying the cause of the problem. Then, it is necessary to analyze all consequences and prioritize their solution according to severity and the level of impact on the organization’s key activities.
As stated, disasters can have the most varied causes and consequences. Therefore, contingency plans are not like fried egg recipes. Each scenario requires a way of acting, and company priorities vary.
Redundancy and backup
Experts claim that data is the oil of the 21st century, as it will be as important to commercial activities in this era as fossil fuel was in the previous century.
Ensuring data security and backup thus becomes a fundamental task for IT managers across different segments. However, simply backing up in a single location is not always enough to guarantee information security.
There is an old saying that goes “He who has one, has none, and he who has two actually has one.” This maxim is more than valid when we talk about backup and data security. We cannot entrust a power as great as customer data, for example, to just a single device, such as an external hard drive, which is also susceptible to physical failures, among others.
The more copies of data in safe places you have, the lower the chances of this information being lost due to a combination of failures. Among the available options is the virtualization of the database.
Internet link redundancy
Imagine the following situation: the internet drops due to a technical problem from the provider and, suddenly, you find yourself unable to work and wondering how people managed to work before the web.
To avoid this scenario, it is important to invest in redundant internet links, that is, in addition to the main provider line, you need to have at least one more available. If one fails, the other will guarantee the continuity of web access and key activities that depend on this asset.
For the entire system formed by clusters, redundancies, and effective backups to operate effectively, attention to configuration details is required. Strategic solutions, such as debugging and effective monitoring, allow critical points that can become failures to be identified before they prevent the operations of a company from continuing.
By talking to an expert on the subject, you can learn more about how to perform IT asset redundancy.
Do you know other suggestions for types of IT asset redundancy? Do you have any questions? Comment on the post and let’s develop this dialogue!
