The latest edition of ContinuitySA quarterly newsletter

1. Q3 2012
Keeping ContinuitySA
clients informed
Editor’s Note
The third issue of Con nuitySA Client Chronicles is filled with news on current
In this Issue developments, expert insights and useful informa on. I would like to take the
me to thank all contributors for their informa on.
1 Exci ng mes ahead
The main feature is around the This feature also recaps the launch of our mobile data
2 Con nuitySA and announcement of our SAP Cer­ centre and the launch of our new service for Internet
Britehouse announce fied disaster recovery offer­ Solu ons clients.
Cer fied SAP disaster ing. This new offering allows
recovery offering customers to reduce risk and Con nuitySA is commi ed to sustainable development
outsource specialist cri cal serv­ and this year we have commi ed and encouraged our
3 ISO 22301 v BS 25999 employees to experience the personal reward of giving
ices necessary to manage SAP sys­
tems administra on and related services. their me and sweat equity towards our current corpo­
7 Con nuitySA keeps
rate social investment program, Raising a Roof with
CANSA up and running Con nuitySA will provide the infrastructure, connec v­
ity and workplace recovery elements of the offering and Habitat for Humanity.
8 Ge ng to grips with Britehouse will provide a suite of services aimed at en­ So lastly don’t forget you can make contact with us in
VDI ­ PART 2: Virtual hancing the performance and opera onal management so many ways, besides joining us on our social net­
Desktop Infrastructure of the en re SAP stack.
works, like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twi er, you can also
or a well­managed
At recent talks hosted by Con nuitySA, we had Chantel contact us directly through our website for any query
infrastructure?
Lindeman of Frost & Sullivan come in and talk about that you may have.
9 Cloud is changing how cloud is changing the business con nuity industry. Remember you are welcome to send us your news and
business con nuity It was noted that the growing move to cloud compu ng views and we will be willing to include this in our final
industry has the poten al to change the way not only that com­ issue of client chronicles for 2012.
11 Ge ng to grips with
panies implement business con nuity and disaster re­
VDI ­ PART 3: VDI vs
covery but also how they see it.
tradi onal thin client So for those of you that don’t know the key fundamen­ Editor – Cindy Bodenstein
compu ng tal differences of ISO 22301 versus BS 25999 then Eu­ cindy.bodenstein@con nuitysa.co.za
12 Con nuitySA Innova­
gene Taylor, Managing Director of TaGza (UK) Limited, marke ng@con nuitysa.co.za
on ­ Book a test from
has taken the me to spell this out to you in laymen’s
terms, so turn to page four for more informa on. www.con nuitysa.co.za
our website
13 Con nuitySA launches
mobile data centre
Business Update:
Exci ng mes ahead
14 Building towards the
Future
by Michael Davies – Managing Director, Con nuitySA
15 Na onal Bandana Day
There are a number of exci ng developments in the business con nuity
16 Ge ng to grips with world and at Con nuitySA, one such development being the new standard
VDI ­ PART 4: VDI vs on business con nuity, ISO22301, which has now been published. For com­
tradi onal thin client panies that conform to BS 25999 which has been widely u lised un l now,
compu ng it is important to understand that there are a number of differences between
the ISO22301 and BS 25999 standards. What is immediately no ceable is
17 Con nuitySA launches that the new ISO standard places more importance on business con nuity
new service for Inter­ in organisa ons, which is good news for Business Con nuity Management
net Solu ons clients (BCM) prac oners.
19 IT Service Con nuity®
Training
All Links
now Interac ve
and Live!
1

2. F
urther exci ng developments re­ Recent developments at Con nuitySA are Con nuitySA will con nue to strive to be
late to where we may be able to that we have launched a cer fied SAP dis­ opera onally relevant and deliver cus­
go with cloud compu ng and an aster recovery solu on for SAP users in tomised BCM solu ons to our clients. We
increasingly mobile workforce and partnership with Britehouse and have also look forward to the ever improving BCM
how technology progresses to launched a bandwidth disaster recovery so­ services and products that we can offer in
be er enable BCM solu ons for the evolv­ lu on for Internet Solu ons clients. These the future.
ing work environment. are just two examples of how we are mov­
ing forward to provide be er solu ons.
Con nuitySA and Britehouse announce
Cer fied SAP disaster recovery offering
By Jus n Lord
Con nuitySA, the leading African business con nuity provider, and Britehouse are jointly offering
a solu on for managing the performance of SAP systems combined with disaster recovery
services. Britehouse, a member of the Dimension Data group, is a business process automa on
and applica on pla orm specialist company. Britehouse is the first and only Partner in Africa
SAP Cer fied in Cloud Services and an advanced partner in SAP Hos ng Services.
The new offering, which has been cer fied to system change management and
by SAP AG, allows customers to reduce risk Inventory repor ng and capabili es ad­
and outsource specialist cri cal services dressing governance and risk management
necessary to manage SAP systems adminis­ requirements. Without being a SAP Basis
tra on and related services. administrator, you will now know what is
happening within your PRD SAP landscape,
Con nuitySA will be providing the infra­ as and when things change.
structure, connec vity and workplace re­
covery elements of the offering out of its “SAP Insight Services reduces the workload
mul ple data centres across Africa. “The administra on and daily Basis tasks, with
move towards virtualisa on means we can monitoring policies, capacity management
offer clients virtual resources on demand, and custom checks in real me,” says War­ “This is an extremely cost­effec ve way to
which in turn supports this type of spe­ ren Small, a director at Britehouse. “The achieve peace of mind: it’s offered at a
cialised, service­based offering,” says Jus n focus here is on preven ng disasters from monthly cost with no hidden extras, it is
Lord. “Many of South Africa’s leading com­ occurring by truly understanding what’s easy to scale, and includes necessary
panies rely on SAP, so a cu ng­edge but going on in the SAP environment. Clients frequent tes ng cycles to conform to your
cost­effec ve solu on specifically designed who take this op on would then be respon­ governance and risk management require­
for SAP is just what the market ordered.” sible for their own disaster recovery services ments.”
and business con nuity, but the informa­
Si ng on top of the infrastructure layer, on from SAP Insight Services would make Small points out that by automa ng the
Britehouse will provide a suite of services that process much quicker and more effec­ monitoring process, the new offering frees
aimed at enhancing the performance and ve.” in­house IT staff from performing laborious
opera onal management of the en re SAP systems checks, thus making them available
stack (applica on, database and servers). The second op on is a fully managed and to perform work that adds value within the
Two op ons are offered. outsourced solu on,”SAP Managed Serv­ enterprise. Addi onally now these internal
ices”. In this case, the Britehouse SAP spe­ staff members can channel their efforts and
The first op on, “SAP Insight Services”, uses cialist DR team, in conjunc on with a en on to performing internal op misa­
Syslink Xandria to offer integrated monitor­ Con nuitySA would assume responsibility on work, as the monitoring and real­ me
ing of the SAP Produc on (PRD) environ­ and control of the SAP environment and system analy cs is being provided and
ment by Britehouse’s specialist SAP Basis would perform the con nuity processes catered for.
team. The solu on will make a real­ me, and administra ve func ons necessary to
customisable dashboard available to clients, restore the SAP instances within the Con ­ “This is a specialised solu on aimed at the
allowing them to monitor system perform­ nuitySA infrastructure. SAP environments, which is arguably the
ance and receive performance alerts before most business­cri cal in the company,” says
problems develop. The solu on offering fur­ “This op on extends the value proposi on Jus n Lord. “The combina on of remote
to include the skilled resources needed to monitoring and analysis plus the fully man­
ther provides detailed SAP Centric system
bring up the SAP environment quickly and aged disaster recovery services eliminates
analy cs and informa on relevant to the safely—something that’s essen al given
stability and opera onal availabilityof your a primary worry for CIOs.”
how reliant companies are on their enter­
SAP systems, which includes the OS, DB and prise systems,” says Small.
SAP workloads. SAP Insight Services, pro­
vides customisable system checks and serv­
ice level response informa on, in addi on
2

3. ISO 22301 v BS 25999
Beware the Myth!
Having recently implemented a BCMS aligned with the recently published ISO22301 and
having spent the past 4 years taking companies through cer fica on to BS25999 I am
delighted to have this opportunity to reflect on some key differences between the two.
At the outset let me dispel the myth that 22301 is 25999 with a bit more wrapping – it
isn’t!
This misunderstanding may stem from the fact that 22301 and 25999 are both Business
Con nuity Management Systems standards with good basic principles but the “similar­
ity” ends there.
In defence of 25999 though, it did set the pla orm for sound global business con nuity
management principles which were fundamental in the founda on for compiling 22301.
Building structures vary and therefore so will
their maintenance requirements By Eugene Taylor MBCI,
Managing Director, TaGza (UK) Limited,
Let’s first look at the structure of the two documents and then examine a few examples Wa ord, Herts
of fundamental differences. www.TaGza.Biz
25999: 22301:
• Sec on 3: Establishing and managing the BCMS (Scope, • Sec on 4: Context of the Organisa on, Needs of interested
Objec ves, Policy, Resources, Competencies, Embedding, par es, Determining Scope,
Documenta on)
• Sec on 5: Leadership
• Sec on 4: Understanding the Org (BIA, Risk assessment,
Strategy, Developing a Response, Exercising, Maintaining, • Sec on 6: Planning
Reviewing) • Sec on 7: Support (Resources, Competence, Awareness,
• Sec on 5: Internal audit, Management review Communica on, Documented Informa on)
• Sec on 6: Preven ve and Correc ve ac ons, Con nual • Sec on 8: Opera on, BIA, Risk Assessment, Strategy,
improvement Procedures
• Sec on 9: Performance evalua on
• Sec on 10: Improvement
So – not only are the structures different but there are addi onal language and considerably varying format requirements which
may well a ract different approaches during compliance assessments.
Those aligned or cer fied to BS25999 who might assume they could just copy and paste to comply with ISO22301 would be
adop ng a very dangerous approach.
So, more trees will need to be cut down …
Documenta on! Documenta on! Documenta on!
The fundamental difference is that compliance to 22301 requires a load more documentary evidence.
Have a look at sec on 8 of 22301 and you will no ce there are now more onerous requirements on documented processes – quite a
few of which were not requirements in 25999. Be especially wary of sec on 7 which has a lot to say about documented informa on.
In fact, 22301 men ons “documented” evidence requirements all over the place – some 27 clauses in contrast to 24 clauses in 25999.
Don’t be fooled by this hint implying only a “li le more” as the clauses requiring “documented” anything in 22301 are much more
detailed and prescrip ve.
3

4. ISO 22301 v BS 25999
For example:
25999:
4.1.1.1 Understanding the Organisa on: BIA: There shall be a defined, documented and
appropriate method for determining the impact of any disrup on of the ac vi es that
support the organisa on's key products and services (see 3.2.1).
22301:
8.1c Opera on: The organiza on shall determine, plan, implement and control those
processes needed to address the risks and opportuni es determined in 6.1 and to meet
requirements, by keeping documented informa on to demonstrate that the processes
have been carried out as planned.
8.2.1a The organiza on shall establish, implement and maintain a formal and docu­
mented process for business impact analysis and risk assessment that establishes the
context of the assessment, defines criteria and evaluates the poten al impact of a dis­
rup ve incident.
These quirky li le twists in the language make the demand on compliance evidence
much more voluminous, 25999 merely requiring a method while 22301 requiring infor­
ma on and process – both of which could become subjec ve issues.
Just a li le warning! There are some clauses that require evidence but don’t specify
“documented evidence” however when reading the clauses there appears no other way
to provide “evidence” ­ other than by documented means.
To the board we go …
This bit I really like! Sec on 5 of 22301 clearly requires “board level” leadership commitment
and this means BCM cannot be shoved in some cupboard and brought out conveniently
each year to be dusted off.
At this point it might be worth men oning the “notes” within 22301. Whilst many of the
clauses are clearly prefixed with references there are also a number of “notes” within 22301
and my guess is that auditors will use those for compliance requirements. So, while some
clauses in 22301 may not reference requirements previously evident in 25999, the “notes”
capture similar “indica ve requirements”. Watch them!
No more holidays for BC Prac oners!
For those looking to apply a BCMS for the first me and take the 22301 route life should be
pre y peachy as 22301 has a very nice structure which could well define the implementa on
approach.
For those who have been aligned or been cer fied to 25999 there will be a significant rise
in workload to meet the requirements. Removing the reference to “25999” in governance
policies, associated BCMS documenta on, awareness and training material will be a task
on its own.
But – this is a good me to take advantage of 22301 to improve a BCMS which is currently
structured under 25999. For instance the Policy and Governance structures now have a
clear focus on leadership commitment and that may well improve the recogni on and pro­
gramme delivery of BC within organisa ons.
This will also be a good me to look at the organisa on’s BC community resourcing to ensure
capability able to fit the requirements of 22301.
4

5. ISO 22301 v BS 25999
Don’t ignore changes in language.
There is no men on of “embedding” in 22301 – promise! So does that mean that lovely outer ring in the diagram we have been
proudly showing off over the past few years is now gone? Well – actually the whole diagram has gone! (Ref: BS25999­2:2007 figure
2 page 3). No! Embedding has not gone.
Quite simply the language in 22301 has changed (really to synchronise with other standards) and because ISO have a way of doing
things that compel consistency across the various disciplines which have applicable standards. Quickly skim through the ISO/IEC Di­
rec ve, Part 1 Consolidated Supplement if you really want to know a bit more.
25999 has a specific clause requirement for “embedding” (25999: 3.3a) while 22301 qualifies “embedding” under various clauses
but ul mately expects top management to do this by ensuring the BCMS requirements are integrated into the business processes
(22301: 5.2).
Yes – that reminds me. 22301 requires certain processes and that these are documented (more trees to cut down). More importantly
(and subtle in many clauses) 22301 also requires informa on which supports processes and structures to be documented.
Are we be er off?
Clearly 22301 is be er structured and more specific on what is required
than 25999 as it flows in a way one might typically implement a BCMS.
While it may require more from prac oners ini ally, much of it ought to
structure a simpler methodology for addressing rou ne maintenance of
22301.
The key improvements of 22301 which will encourage be er methods of
addressing resilience building and enhanced capability is the clear require­
ment of leadership involvement and commitment.
Because sec on 4 is a lot more specific about interested par es, products
and services, there will be greater clarity on scope and understanding of
what cons tutes a component of the BCMS. That in itself will be an enabler
for the leadership teams to be more focussed on strategy.
Ah, the strategy word! Interes ngly enough strategy is emphasised in
25999 under “management review” (5.2.3c), whereas in 22301 this now
has its own sec on (8.3.1) and follows the BIA sec on within the structure
of 22301. This I agree makes sense!
In par ng ……
Read 22301 very carefully – it tends to say the same thing in a number of places which doesn’t mean you have to have a correla ng
number of documents or processes as you will just create duplica on.
For example:
4.1b, 5.2, 5.3b, 6.2, 8.2.2, 8.2.3d, 8.4.1, 8.5, 9.1.2c and 9.3 all have some reference to Business Con nuity Objec ves.
22301 is a good standard, but by no means complete on its own if you want to develop your organisa on’s resilience. Nonetheless
22301 is a valued component to support your business “firewall”.
Good luck!
5

6. 6

7. Con nuitySA keeps CANSA up
and running
The Cancer Associa on of South Africa (CANSA), plays a vital role in helping millions of South Africans reduce
their cancer risk and coping with cancer diagnosis. It’s Care Centres and Clinics provide comprehensive care to
cancer survivors, caregivers and their loved ones across the country, including counselling and support groups,
specialist care of wounds and complica ons as well as the provision of medical equipment. This is one organ­
isa on that simply cannot go offline or lose data.
With that in mind, the organisa on con­ The blaze was apparently caused by an “Con nuitySA were wonderful hosts and
tacted Con nuitySA, Africa’s leading electrical cable in the ceiling that over­ went out of their way make us feel at
provider of business con nuity solu ons, heated. The fire brigade advised that the home. They never spared anything to cre­
several years back. Con nuitySA has al­ sec on of the building affected by the fire ate a comfortable working environment for
ways been an enthusias c supporter of should be evacuated for at least a week as us and their staff was all friendly and effi­
CANSA and readily agreed to provide there was the danger of toxic fumes and cient. When there was a query or need,
CANSA’s head office and other offices in smoke residue. The damage to the buildin­ they were quick to respond,” says Sue
Gauteng with a business con nuity solu­ galso had to be repaired, and new equip­ Janse Van Rensburg, CANSA’s CEO.
on as part of its corporate social invest­ ment purchased and installed.
ment programme. At the same me, Janse Van Rensburg says that all busi­
CANSA requested its provincial offices to nesses—and par cularly non­profits—
make similar arrangements. should profit from CANSA’s experience.
Staff members need to know where the
“CANSA does a remarkable job in the field fire ex nguishers are and what to do in the
of cancer control and we realised that it event of a fire. Office keys should be clearly
was vital to keep it up and running what­ marked and accessible, and emergency
ever disasters might occur,” says Louise numbers posted in a prominent place and
Theunissen, general manager: Client Serv­ stored on cell phones. The fire escapes and
ices, Con nuitySA. “Non­profit organisa­ Thanks to the agreement with Con nu­ their keys need to be accessible and, of
ons like CANSA have exactly the same itySA, CANSA’s head office staff was not course, a valid electrical cer ficate needs
business con nuity needs as the biggest greatly affected by this disaster. From the to be in place along with appropriate insur­
corporate, but many of them simply don’t next morning, at the price of a commute ance.
recognise the need un l it’s too late.” to the Con nuitySA Recovery Centre in
Midrand, they were supplied with office “Most of all, all businesses need a sensible
CANSA’s forethought was vindicated on space equipped with Internet and phone recovery plan that’s well understood
4 June 2012 when early arrivals at the or­ connec ons, plus standard office services before disaster strikes—and a business
ganisa on’s head office in Bedfordview, such as photocopying, fax and prin ng. con nuity provider like Con nuitySA to
Johannesburg, no ced a fire burning in provide the office space, technology and
the Marke ng & Communica ons office. A “Our facili es are designed for just this sort all the other services you might need while
maintenance contractor who happened to of eventuality, so we were able to provide repairs are being done,” says Theunissen.
be onsite helped ex nguish the fire, which CANSA’s head­office team with everything “A disaster is always disrup ve but, with
then subsequently reignited. By the me they needed to keep the organisa on the right planning and assistance, its
the fire brigade finally arrived 40 minutes running, down to adequate parking, impact can be minimised.”
later, the Marke ng & Communica ons refreshments and friendly service!” says
area had suffered extensive damage, with Con nuitySA’s Theunissen.
printers, laptops and other office equip­
ment rendered useless.
7

8. Ge ng to grips with VDI ­ PART 2
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure or
a well­managed infrastructure?
By Sco Orton, Co­founder and sales director of Triple4.
In the opening ar cle of this series I covered a background informa on into the world of
virtual desktop infrastructures (VDI), including concepts and a brief explana on on the
workings and benefits of the technology.A bit of a teaser was le at the end about the op­
on of having a well­managed infrastructure instead of a VDI environment.
Let me elaborate a li le further on this Now it is me to throw some controversial desktop environment, addi onal so ware
concept. Take aside the costs of moving ideas around. Tradi onal desktop environ­ is needed; they may be something similar
into a VDI environment, a lot of organisa­ ments can be more agile and streamlined to Microso System Center Configura on
ons are looking to VDI because it is per­ if they are managed properly.Over many manager. The VDI vendors such as Citrix
ceived to be easier to manage and years, Microso has worked hard on im­ and VMware include technologies to assist
support. While this is true in some re­ proving its Ac ve Directory offering to pro­ with so ware management and deploy­
spects, it is not really introducing too vide organisa ons with the ability to ment in their more premium bundles of
many new concepts. As men oned before, control devices on the network. In fact VDI solu ons.
simply moving 400 desktops into a virtual there is almost nothing you cannot control
environment is not really solving many and configure on a windows desktop The point I am trying to make? With a li le
problems; you s ll have 400 versions of of­ these days by using group policies within bit of effort spent with technologies that
fice to deploy and 400 desktops to provide Ac ve Directory. So lets take a look at the organisa ons may have already purchased
support to. In fact now you have to sup­ benefits listed above and provide some goes a long way to improving support pro­
port 400 thin clients or machines being solu ons that already exist within most cedures and user experiences. It is not al­
used with the connec on broker, so it may Microso based corporate networks: ways necessary to invest and implement
add to support costs. new technologies to solve issues or add
• Windows Server provides the ability for features. It seems as though IT support
Lets look at some of the benefits from a deployment of worksta ons with quite and deployment teams have go en a li le
simple VDI solu on: a decent amount of accuracy by using lazy with assis ng organisa ons to stream­
Windows Deployment services. A fair line processes and be more agile or
• Easy of desktop deployment, because a amount of ini al configura on is re­ dynamic.
desktop template can be created with quired, but once mastered, machine de­
all the relevant so ware pre­installed ployment is easy and works well. I have wri en quite a bit about VDI using
thin client technologies to enable users to
• Fast deployment mes because the • Many technologies exist within group connect to their virtual desktops to bring
image is normally stored on decent policies to aid terminal server deploy­ about the rich desktop experience of say
speed storage which would be deployed ments, one of which is roaming profiles, Windows 7. Through this me and inves­
in the virtual environment which enables a profile to move wher­ ga on of VDI from IT owners, perhaps
• Ease of access because thin client tech­ ever the user logs on from. In a terminal through all the blurb and hype, something
nologies are used, a user can use any server environment this means what­ has been overlooked. That li le something
thin client or machine to access their ever server a user may log on to. is simply called Terminal services, or for a
desktop environment. So if your own few more enhancements, Citrix Xen App.
Who is to say you can’t use this technol­ They are both thin client technologies,
thin client is not working, you can move ogy in a normal desktop environment. Do
to another users machine and con nue both require fewer resources than a VDI
a decent amount of planning and users solu on and offer similar benefits. So
to work. can work in a hot desk scenario and work what is wrong with tradi onal thin client
Unless it is me for desktop replacement from any desktop. The technology is there compu ng? We will cover than in the next
in the business, the costs of VDI could be but o en seems to have been forgo en ar cle….
seen as quite prohibi ve to obtain bene­ about.
Want to discuss this with me call me on
fits that don’t really add too much value, When it comes to so ware deployment 083 600 2536 or email
and more o en than not the virtual envi­ and the management of so ware, regard­
ronment has to be upgraded to cater for sco .orton@triple4.co.za
less if you are using VDI or a tradi onal
the addi onal load of a VDI solu on.
8

9. Cloud is changing business
con nuity industry
“The growing move to cloud compu ng has the poten al to change the way not only that companies
implement business con nuity and disaster recovery, but also the way that they see it,” says Chantel
Lindeman, Frost & Sullivan’s Business Unit Leader for ICT Africa. Lindeman recently presented Frost &
Sullivan research into cloud compu ng and its impact on business con nuity to delegates at the launch
of the new SAP disaster recovery offering from Con nuitySA and Britehouse.
Frost & Sullivan predicts that the world­
wide cloud market will grow from $41 bil­
lion in 2011 to more than $241 billion by
2020. However, adop on rates are cur­
rently slower than expected because ven­
dors have yet to turn those unconvinced by
the cloud value proposi on (37%, accord­
ing to 2011 research) into believers. In ad­
di on, 40% of respondents said they had
either never heard of infrastructure as a
service or were not very familiar with the
concept. Lindeman notes that the believers
(22%) s ll remain worried about security.
In South Africa, says Lindeman, cloud dom­
inates discussions and the media but adop­
on rates are low. Frost & Sullivan research
indicates that the local market understands
infrastructure as a service (IaaS) and can
see its effects on the bo om line—conse­
quently, this sector is showing steady
growth. By contrast, so ware as a service
remains a niche market at present.
“Pla orm as a service (PaaS) is new to the
South African market but, in my view, that The key driver of the cloud market in South Africa con nues to be the evolu on of the
is the one to watch over the next five data centre environment, with virtualisa on the key technology development. Companies
years,” Lindeman says. “PaaS underpins the are used to outsourcing their data centre requirements, and this trend has penetrated
real value that the cloud model can offer the small to medium­sized enterprise market as business struggles to keep up with new
businesses looking to reduce costs and be­ technology and respond to energy insecurity.
come more agile, and once the market un­
derstands that, we will see strong growth.”
9

10. Cloud is changing business con nuity industry
“These data centres have tradi onally
offered disaster recovery and business con­
nuity services, and the growth of virtuali­
sa on and cloud­based storage is changing
the model drama cally,” says Lindeman.
This change will, she says, hold back the
con nued growth in tradi onal disaster
recovery services and is already influencing
the offerings of the market leaders, such as
Con nuitySA, which has the biggest market
share (21%) by some margin.
Lindeman says that business con nuity has
always been a grudge purchase because its
business case has always been based on
nega ve factors. “Much like ea ng your
vegetables, you know you have to back up
your data,” she observes.
“However, as disaster recovery moves into
the cloud, that reality is changing and
customers can now benefit from real­ me
informa on­sharing whilst achieving the
cost benefits of scale.”
Jus n Lord concurs, “Our ability to use vir­
tualised storage and processing power to
offer business con nuity/ disaster recovery In this way, the disaster recovery capability can also make a posi ve contribu on to the
as a service is changing the equa on,” he company during the 99% of the me it is not being used for its primary purpose.
explains. “It’s helping CIOs to move busi­
ness con nuity off their balance sheets to “The one thing that is holding companies back from wholesale adop on of this con nu­
become a pure opera onal expense, and ity­as­a­service model is the availability of cheap bandwidth. Once that has been sorted
it’s also making that dedicated processing out, we will really begin to see the power of this model.”
and storage capacity available for the pro­
duc on environment as well.
10

11. Ge ng to grips with VDI ­ PART 3
VDI vs tradi onal thin client compu ng
In the previous ar cle I le you with something to think about with
regards to management of a virtual desktop environment versus man­
aging desktops through tradi onal techniques using the likes of group
policies, which are inherent in Microso Ac ve Directory. I also le a
bit of a hanger with regards to using tradi onal thin client
technologies versus a virtual desktop infrastructure.
Let me expand on this concept a li le.
Believe it or not, even in this technical Thin client technology provides the ability The applica ons being used are actually
age, some IT managers/owners have not to establish a remote session with a installed on this server opera ng system.
heard about thin client technology or server, where all processing and re­ For instance if Microso office is part of
know what it's true capabili es are. Most sources are taken care of by the server the business tools that are used, it would
IT persons and even lots of users have opera ng system.Now that can be any be installed locally on the server. No busi­
been exposed to remote desktop services Microso server based opera ng system ness applica ons are installed on the
or RDP, simply because it has become a that supports remote desktop services or client.
standard for remotely managing the terminal services, or in more recent
server environment or providing the mes, Windows Server 2003, Windows A single server can handle mul ple ses­
means to connect from a remote loca on Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008R2 sions thus accommoda ng mul ple
to efficiently work. Quite o en however, being the obvious choice. users, and thin client technology can be
the e up between RDP and thin client branched out to mul ple servers for re­
technologies is not realized, which raises The client, which could be anything from silience.
confusion. a hardware thin client to a Windows ma­
chine running a desktop opera ng sys­ With hopefully a li le bit be er under­
So lets give a bit of background on thin tem, simply receives screen updates from standing of the core workings of how a
client technologies. Thin client technology the server and sends keyboard and thin client environment works, we can
has been around for some me now, in mouse strokes to the server (There are a move onto some key advantages. One of
fact it dates back to before Microso few others steps, but I am trying to be as which is so ware deployment or so ­
Windows NT3.51 days, which is a very non­technical as possible). A full desktop ware rollout.
long me! Citrix were the pioneers in this experience (similar to VDI) or individual
technology, even licensing the technology applica ons can be presented to the user.
to Microso . So the technology has been
around for quite some me, but what is
it? Well let me explain a li le.
11

12. VDI vs tradi onal thin client compu ng
Let's assume 100 users are u lizing thin and a thin client solu on is the ability to So if a unified user experience is needed,
client technology and are deployed work from in the office or at a remote lo­ or you want to avoid confusion among
among four servers.If a a new applica on ca on and have a similar working experi­ users, then maybe VDI with a modern
needs deployment, the applica on only ence, providing Internet bandwidth is desktop opera ng system is the way to
needs to be installed on those four sufficient. go. Is it worth the addi onal cost and
servers, making it a rela vely simple roll­ management? I am not so sure. What if
out.In a tradi onal desktop environment Lets summarize a li le, It is possible to you could house desktops in the cloud
or a simple VDI environment, the applica­ give a user a full desktop in a thin client and present secure individual desktops to
ons would need to be installed on 100 server environment, where the data re­ different organisa ons, now wouldn’t
separate desktops or VDI machines which mains safe, without having to manage that be a useful spin on the technology?
would take significant me. I men on hundreds of individual desktops, so ware Guess what? I will cover that in the final
simple VDI environment, as more ad­ deployment is easy and the hardware in­ ar cle of the series.
vanced solu ons are more easily de­ vestment is not prohibi ve. Surely then,
ployed; they do however come at a cost. the ques on needs to be asked, how is
Another key advantage of thin client tech­ VDI be er than tradi onal thin client
nology is the ability to get the most out of technology which has been tried and
a hardware investment.Over the years tested for years? To be honest, it isn't, it
the ability to get more and more users is simply a new spin on the technology
housed on a single server has increased, and used in a different way. Certain VDI
whereas in a VDI environment, each desk­ providers such as Citrix s ll use thin client
top opera ng system requires CPU and technology to present a desktop to the Please click here to visit
memory requirements which adds addi­ user, they just gave it a new name like
onal overhead onto the virtual environ­ Shared desktop. our website, Triple4.
ment. An advantage that favours both VDI
Want to discuss this with me call me on 083 600 2536 or email sco .orton@triple4.co.za
Con nuitySA is con nually looking at
innova ve ways for you, our clients to
easily and effec vely reach us, so here
is the latest way.
CLIENTS can now Book a Test from our website.
All you need to do is go onto our website home page www.con nuitysa.co.za
Click on the banner below and book your test.
This process goes through to our Service Desk, who will
then finalise the process with you.
We will inform you of any addi onal ways you will benefit and this will be Coming Soon...
Watch this space!
12

13. Con nuitySA launches
mobile data centre
Con nuitySA, Africa’s leading provider of business con nuity services, has launched a mobile data
centre service to give clients a new way to mi gate IT risk. Market take­up has been quick, with the
new mobile unit already in use at a client site.
“Businesses are very vulnerable to IT risk,” says Mark Beverley, Racks are secured during transit, and the unit also contains links
general manager for service delivery at Con nuitySA. “Now, how­ to power (mains or generator) and fibre­op c networks. The mo­
ever, IT failure no longer means that the whole company has to bile unit was also designed to provide a certain degree of resilience
relocate to the disaster recovery site. If the disaster is solely related given that it is likely to be placed in an uncontrolled environment.
to IT, we can restore the IT onsite via the mobile data centre, thus
ensuring minimal disrup on.” “Aside from the design of the container, we have also developed
the skills to configure the equipment and get the unit connected
Beverley explains that IT failure accounts for a high propor on of quickly to the power supply and network once it’s on site,” Bever­
the disaster declara ons among Con nuitySA clients. ley notes.
Con nuitySA’s mobile data centre is housed in a container—but Subscribers to the service can either supply their own equipment
one that was specially designed for local condi ons a er extensive or use equipment supplied by Con nuitySA. If they are also using
inves ga on of interna onal units. Con nuitySA for replica on or other backup services, the equip­
ment could arrive with data already loaded.
“Our unit is designed to fit onto a standard 14 metre trailer, so it
can be transported to the client site with minimal delay,” says Bev­ “The unit is designed to be as flexible as possible so we can give
erley. “Unlike interna onal units, however, the cooling system is clients what they need,” concludes Beverley. “We think this offers
integrated into the design—and it’s tough enough to cope with clients a great way to keep their IT systems up and running without
African condi ons. The container is also painted white to reflect having to move the whole workforce. The market is responding
heat.” well to this innova on, making it likely we will commission addi­
onal units in me.”
The unit can accommodate 12 fully populated APC racks each with
5 kilowa s of power. The racks are removable in case non­standard
racks are needed by a customer.
13

14. Building towards
the Future
With corporate social investment becoming ever more
strategically focused, it made business sense to Con nu­
itySA to align our corporate social investment spend with
our core business strategy and impera ves.
With this approach it moved our corporate social investment out • Provides a highly credible channel for effec ve Corporate Social
of the charitable sphere into one with true partnerships with ben­ Investment
eficiaries so as to bring about long term sustainable development
to the benefit of all. • Helping stabilise the economic and social environment
With this in mind and with the fact that we wanted to encourage In September 2012 Con nuitySA will be giving our sweat equity
our employees to experience the personal rewards of giving their and living our Triple F dream and building a home towards
me as well as sweat equity towards something of value, this is somebody’s future.
how Con nuitySA decided to get involved in Raising a Roof with
Habitat for Humanity.
This CSI program is completely in line with our company strategy
and values, not to men on that we are completely commi ed to
sustainable development. Our company strategy is to provide In­
frastructure (a home) to our clients to ensure their future and se­
curity and our one company value is to live the Triple F (Feel good,
Family, Fun) dream, so in turn we wanted to provide a Home to a About Habitat for Humanity
family to ensure their future and security.
Habitat for Humanity South Africa brings people together to build
The benefits to Con nuitySA for being a part of a CSI program like homes, communi es and hope. Habitat for Humanity South Africa
this; has an ac ve volunteer programme that has seen thousands of
volunteers working on Habitat for Humanity South Africa sites in
• Contribu on to Sustainable Community Development 34 communi es across South Africa. Habitat for Humanity South
• Enhancing business performance Africa has ac ve community, youth, corporate and church pro­
grammes running across the country which give opportuni es for
• Improving Employee Morale volunteers to give of their me, sweat and energy to work side­
by­side with homeowner families to build their homes.
• Providing outstanding opportuni es to build rela onships
with business partners For more informa on on Habitat for Humanity and how your or­
ganisa on can get involved visit, www.habitat.org.za
• Increasing customer goodwill and loyalty
Con nuitySA will share our experience around our build in the
• Providing a safe and construc ve community building fourth quarter of Client Chronicles.
experience
14

15. Na onal Bandana Day
– 12th October 2012
In addi on to living our company values Con nuitySA are always
looking at ways to reach out.
This year we are also ge ng involved with Roundtable and the Sunflower Fund project for Na onal Bandana Day. Na onal Bandana
Day takes place on the 12th October 2012.
Con nuitySA will have bandanas for sale and taking orders from our clients for this worthy cause. By suppor ng and buying a bandana
you can help young leukaemia sufferers. We challenge our clients to get involved and purchase your bandana’s for your staff today.
That’s not all we also urge you to wear your bandana on the 12th October to stand in solidarity with any Leukaemia sufferers who have
lost their hair due to their chemo­therapy treatment. For only R20 per bandana you are sure to make a difference to this worthy cause.
It does not stop there, with this we ask you to take pictures and share your stories and send them to us and we will publish it in our
next issue of client chronicles and we will also send this onto the Sunflower Fund to let them know that your organisa on got involved.
So join in now to “Share a li le to Save a Life”.
For more informa on on how you can place your orders for your Bandana’s please contact Bradley Janse van Rensburg at
bradley.vanrensburg@con nuitysa.co.za.
Your contribu on can make
a huge difference.
www.sunflowerfund.org.za www.roundtable.org.za
15

16. Ge ng to grips with VDI ­ PART 4
VDI vs tradi onal thin client compu ng
In the previous ar cles that I have wri en for this series I have le a bit of a cliff­hanger leading
into the next idea or thought. The last ar cle on VDI vs. tradi onal thin client compu ng was not
different. I men oned the possibility of housing a desktop in the cloud and if the current market
is ready for it. So is housing a desktop in the cloud a good idea or bad? Let’s find out.
Having a server environment in the The most a rac ve proposi on for a It is best suited for organisa ons with a
cloud or in a data centre seems like a desktop in the cloud is organisa ons that mobile workforce and a few key guide­
good idea, it makes for ease of access, have many mobile users and want to lines should be stuck to when looking at
more simple disaster recovery and al­ keep business cri cal data safe, but inves ng in the technology:
lows a business to grow on demand don’t want the expense of housing the
more easily then when hosted on prem­ equipment and virtual environment • The VDI provider that is chosen must
ise. Would these benefits stretch to the themselves. Using a virtual desktop in supply the best of breed technology
desktop environment as well? It cer­ the cloud seems very ideal in this situa­ that is out there to provide a good
tainly sounds like a good idea to be able on, because access to your work ma­ class of service
to add new desktops on demand when­ chine is available from anywhere an
ever new users join your organisa on, internet connec on is available, the data • Just because your data is in the Cloud,
no need to worry about users data get­ is safely stored in a data centre, and if it does not mean it is safe, ensure a
ng lost when a laptop or desktop gets the correct mix is chosen, your desktop sound backup strategy is s ll adhered
stolen because the data is safely stored environment can be on the same net­ to
in the cloud and the ability to have a work as your server environment which
complete agile IT environment and com­ would offer high speed connec ons be­ • Ensure that internet connec vity is of
pany strategy. tween your desktops and servers. good quality as the service relies on it
But before it sounds too good to be true, The main downside to any desktop in • Make sure the desktops that are
as usual, there are some drawbacks and the cloud solu on is the frustra on that clouds based can be supported effi­
things to consider. Looking at pu ng occurs when Internet connec vity gets a ciently or that your support staff/out­
your desktop environment into the cloud bit wobbly and the user experience is af­ sourcer can support the environment
is not for all companies. Lets imagine you fected, or the inability to work at all. efficiently.
have mainly office bound users and you Remember in a tradi onal work environ­
To summarise the various ar cles that I
subscribe to a desktop environment in ment, even if your Internet connec on is
wri en is quite a challenge as I have
the cloud. All desktop machines would unavailable, you can work locally on your
thrown about some nice conflic ng in­
be housed in a data centre somewhere own worksta on. When your desktop is
forma on and arguments for the virtual
with access from the Internet. If the In­ housed in the cloud, you may not be
desktop technology that is available.
ternet goes down for whatever reason, able to work at all. Some VDI vendors
Bo om line when looking at this modern
you have an en re office with unproduc­ offer offline desktop capability where
technology, do a good amount of re­
ve users who cannot connect to their your desktop can work when no Internet
search and marry that research to your
work environment. Also despite the connec vity is available and the desktop
own business. Don’t invest in the tech­
desktop being in the cloud, a thin client simply synchronises when Internet is
nology just because it is the in thing,
device or notebook is s ll needed to con­ available again. Again sounds all good,
make sure it is right fit for your environ­
nect to this desktop, so addi onal cost but in prac ce with the speed of Internet
ment and that it truly does add value.
considera on is needed. connec vity locally are not always an
op on. Want to discuss this with
Saying that though, it is not impossible
to house desktops in the cloud for an of­ So what am I really ge ng at here? me call me on 083 600 2536
fice bound environment. It is vitally im­ or email
portant to have a good quality high I think VDI may just be ready for the
speed redundant Internet connec on to cloud with the technologies that it is sco .orton@triple4.co.za
ensure that down me is reduced and based on.
user experience is kept sound.
16

17. Con nuitySA launches new service for
Internet Solu ons clients
In an industry first, Con nuitySA has developed a
business con nuity solu on aimed at corporates
that use mul protocol label switching (MPLS)
networking provided by Internet Solu ons.
Con nuitySA has established a fibre gigabit network link than it is to manage mul ple aster is invoked—at no extra cost. While
per second link to Internet Solu ons, which links each dedicated to a customer. Each the solu on is tailored for each client, Kalla
gives Internet Solu ons clients bandwidth customer is logically separated on the link says that there are economies of scale as
on demand for disaster recovery purposes. something seen in overseas markets on the bandwidth is purchased in bulk from In­
The link effec vely makes Con nuitySA an “hostlinks” or NNI’s. (Network to Network ternet Solu ons.
extension of the Internet Solu ons net­ Interfaces)
work.This means that the new service can The service is “always on”, which means
be seamlessly integrated into clients’ exist­ “Some of South Africa’s leading organisa­ that clients can also use their dedicated
ing MPLS networks. It also means a quicker ons use Internet Solu ons’ MPLS net­ bandwidth to access their compu ng ca­
turnaround me for implementa on. works and they are constantly looking for pacity at Con nuitySA, whether real or vir­
ways to perform the replica on and backup tual, for ac vi es outside of business
“We no ced how many of our clients were they require for enterprise­grade business con nuity. “This trend is transforming busi­
pu ng in point­to­point links between our con nuity,” Kalla notes. “Our new solu on ness con nuity infrastructure from a pure
facili es and Internet Solu ons,” says Sha­ integrates that capability seamlessly onto overhead into a business asset that can be
heen Kalla, technical consultant at Con nu­ their exis ng networks.” used for day­to­day produc on ac vi es,”
itySA, and leader of the development team. Kalla observes.
“It made more sense to offer Internet So­ The new offering allows clients to purchase
lu ons clients the benefits of a single large dedicated bandwidth on this link for the The new solu on has immediate capacity
pipe between Con nuitySA and Internet purposes of business con nuity. The new for up to 10 clients, and has been designed
Solu ons.” solu on uses cu ng­edge technology to to scale up to 150 clients.
allow clients to “burst” up to five mes
From Con nuitySA’s point of view, it’s ob­ their dedicated capacity when replica ons
viously much more efficient to manage one or backups are in progress, or when a dis­
17

18. BCI Forum South Africa
Should you have any enquiries as to how you can make a difference or
would like to be included in regularly communica on, please contact
Louise Theunissen (MBCI)(PMP), BCI Board Member
Mobile: +27 82 928 7158 or Mail to: louise.theunissen@con nuitysa.co.za
Upcoming BCI Forum Date for 2012
28 November 2012
18

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