Two decades prior to the 9-11 bombing that left companies vulnerable against unplanned events, a 100 percent wholly-owned Filipino IT company, Total Information Management Corp. (TIM) already realized the vital importance of back up services to ensure continuity of business operations.
Jose Marie Antunez, one of the country’s IT pioneers, wanted to make sure that companies will be able to continue their IT operations during planned and unplanned events that will render their own data centers inoperable.
Here in our own backyard, when typhoon ‘Milenyo’ wreaked havoc in most parts of the country, having back-up operations was sorely needed.
Antunez said there are fortuitous events and other unexpected man-made catastrophes that can impact on a company’s business operations and back-up services will guarantee that there will be no loss of business opportunities to companies when that happens.
According to Antunez, there are three types of alternative back up services that can meet the present operational requirements of Philippine companies: “hot”, “warm,” or “cold” back up services.
A “hot” back up services necessitates a fully-equipped backing site. It may feature amenities beyond the minimum equipment required in disaster contingencies. This may include varying degrees of security, fire protection and telecom capacities, he said. “The main advantage of the hot back up is the quick response time in restoring IT operations on the back-up site and its capability to be fully tested by the customer,” he said. On the other hand, a “warm” back up service requires a partially equipped back-up site. The service may only provide some of the equipment necessary for contingency operations. A “cold” site is an empty computer room equipped with air conditioning, wiring and humidity control ready for continued processing when computer equipment is shipped to the location only at the point of need. A cold site is the least expensive operation but the slowest in terms of response time.
Antunez explained that TIM chose to establish a comprehensive and flexible business recovery service (BRC) offering all three options, the first of its kind in the country. TIM has put up three BRC sites since 1994. Currently, there are two fully operational sites in Metro Manila, one in Alabang and the other in Makati. “We have designed our business recovery centers to fit the IT needs of our clients,” Antunez said.
TIM’s BRC has two main components, the computer center and the customer work area. The computer center is a secured area containing the computer equipment, computer room, environmental equipment, communication gateway, technical support staff work area, fire proof vault and restrooms. The customer work area has the ambiance and facilities of a well planned office. It has a reception area, manager’s room, conference room; staff work area, storage facilities and a pantry.
“For any business, the continuity of its operations should be non-negotiable. They should be able to continue their operations 24/7 and even during force majeure events. TIM is here to ensure that these companies can do that,” the TIM official said. Most banks, manufacturing companies and insurance firms have invested in BRC facilities but Antunez believes that back up operations should cut across all businesses. “To serve our customers better, we put up our third BRC site in Cebu just recently, and in the future, we will continue to put in additional investments to better serve our clients’ needs,” Antunez said.
TIM is a wholly-owned Filipino IT company with nationwide operations offering varied products and services. It considers itself as “The only Filipino IT company competing in the field of professionals dominated by multinationals.
Consistently showing double digit growth rates in the last decade, TIM has always been counted among the country’s top 1,000 corporate enterprises. “TIM faces the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead with better skilled personnel, stronger alliances and sound financials. It is prepared and ready to achieve its vision of becoming the most admired and responsive IT Company in Asia ,” he said.