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Greg joined 1102 GRAND in 2008 where he has been active in attracting bootstrapping startups to Inc. 500 and Fortune 500 companies from around the region and the world

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Posts Tagged ‘Disaster Recovery Solution’

Kansas City Data Center 1102 GRAND Reviews: Updating Your Disaster Recovery Plan in 2012

Friday, December 30th, 2011

Posted by: Greg Elliott, Director of Business Development at 1102 GRAND

This past year was one filled with man-made and natural disasters that had the potential to knock out communications and operations in entire cities. From tsunamis to fires to earthquakes, the unexpected could wipe out your whole operation in seconds. Even if your company has a comprehensive disaster recovery plan in place, you may want to check out what other industry leaders have covered in this article from DataCenterKnowledge.com.

Industry Perspectives 2011: Disaster Recovery

At 1102 GRAND, some of our customers use our Kansas City-based colocation facilities as a backup site in their business continuity plan, while others use 1102 GRAND as a production site or for use a hybrid approach. There are many possible approaches appropriate for various types of industries.

If you would like to schedule a tour and to discuss different options available for your business, just give me a call at 816-213-7731 or send me an email at Greg@1102GRAND.com.

Tags: 1102 GRAND, backup utility, Data Backup & Recovery, disaster plan, disaster preparedness, disaster readiness, disaster recovery, disaster recovery plan, Disaster Recovery Solution, plan disaster recovery
Posted in Disaster Recovery Solution | No Comments »

5 GRAND Questions w/ Greg

Monday, October 19th, 2009

Greg Elliot With IT Executive Consultant & CIO Brad Rein

By Greg Elliott

I have heard the discussion many times, should I invest capital in a data center at my current facility or should I move to an off-site facility? I met Brad Rein recently and he had a great insight into the topic at hand. His particular case was a little different, he was looking to move his primary data center to an off-site location and have his DR [disaster recovery] site remain at their main office.

1) What were the components that made the move make sense?

Our operations consisted of one data center, so as the company achieved the current level of maturity and demands from our clients, I had to begin planning for the advancement of our DR/BC [disaster recovery/business continuity] plan. My decision to develop an off site hosting model for our primary data center operations was based on several factors. First, the buildup of our server, network and storage infrastructure was essentially complete so the level of hands on activity had been reduced to periodic maintenance and other occasional physical changes. With our heavy emphasis on virtualization, and remote management capabilities, having direct access to the primary physical components by our infrastructure team was no longer an issue. This previously had weighed heavily into the decision to keep our primary data center operations in our corporate office facility.

Second, given the nature of our business (medical device, healthcare information centric), we were capturing and maintaining highly sensitive data. Our clients and business partners were placing significant emphasis on comprehensive security controls that we were obligated to meet. The focus on the physical data center was becoming increasingly important to them, and the requirements were beginning to exceed what we could justify from a cost/benefit perspective in terms of hardening our existing data center.

2) What did you discover as key benefits to the potential move?

My model was to essentially transfer our primary DC [data center] operations to a remote facility and continue to operate the corporate office data center as the fail over, backup. This was a strategic decision based on the previous points, with the intent of taking our DR/BC capabilities to the next level while mitigating the cost of building the requisite functionality into our existing data center. Additionally, this move would also allow flexibility in the event that, for instance, the company outgrew the leased space in the building and was forced to seek new space elsewhere. Business service interruptions were limited to narrow scheduled maintenance windows – too narrow to take down and move the data center. And, as previously stated, the increasingly stringent operational and security requirements coming from our clients and business partners related to data center operations would be easily met under this model thus expediting the acquisition of new business, and meeting evolving SLA’s [service level agreement].

3) Was there a cost saving by making the switch?

The initial cost analysis showed that by making this change we would eliminate the need to invest in additional (redundant) data circuits, upgrade the fire protection solution, security, HVAC [heating, ventilating, air conditioning], etc. The savings on the fixed and recurring costs far outweighed the cost of the hosting solution. In a high density, virtualized infrastructure, the footprint is significantly reduced, so the monthly costs for the hosted solution is minimal by comparison.

4) What obstacles did you encounter with the process?

In our discussions and planning, I did not see any issues whatsoever in making the change. Any major player in the hosting services space have the engineers on staff to assist with this process, and I felt comfortable with the approach. Having moved data centers on two occasions throughout my career, I understand the process, what to plan for, and how to execute. The bottom line is plan, plan and plan some more. Get the key people involved in every step of the process.

5) What advice would you offer to a CIO contemplating a similar move?

In the current economic climate, most CIO’s are facing increasing pressures on budgets, with expectations to deliver world class, best of breed solutions. Often that creates a paradox in that an adequate capital expenditures budget is essential to accomplishing the mission. It is a fairly simple mathematical exercise to establish the cost to a business when mission critical functions are lost. Approach it from an insurance mindset, and consider ways to reduce the impact. Whether you are hosting a single data center, or multiple operations, hosting makes sense in that you have the full attention and skill of the staff in a facility specifically designed to support critical technology operations.

So there you have it, straight from a CIO. Let me know what topics you would like to see covered in our five questions with… posts. Coming soon…equipment financing with Commercial Capital Company and data backup with DataEdge.

Brad A. Rein

Brad A. Rein has a broad background as a senior executive with over 20 years of leadership experience in medium size, private equity held company environments. His experience history has been primarily focused in high growth, strong return businesses with key roles in Information Technology. Mr. Rein has extensive experience in establishing vision and business strategy, building and managing IT project teams and initiatives, with depth and mastery of key technology areas.

Tags: 1102 GRAND, Bandwidth, Bandwith, Brad Rein, carrier hotel, carrier neutral data facility, Carriers, choosing a data center, Co-location, co-location services, collocation, collocation cross connect, Colo, data center, Data Center Security, data circuit, data management, data security, Data Suites, DC, Disaster Recovery Solution, DR/BC, efficiency, electricity, facility, Green IT, Greg Elliott, hardware, hardware maintenance, heating and cooling, Information, Interconnection, Internet Hub, Internet Service Provider, IT, IT infrastructure, Midwest data center, Midwest Internet hub, network, Networking, off site hosting, off-site facility, offsite facility, remote facility, remote management capabilities, server, storage, telecommunications, temperature control, VoIP, Web Hosting
Posted in Colocation Information, Data Center Security | No Comments »

Greening IT: Installation of cooling towers at 1102 GRAND significantly lowers energy bill

Monday, September 28th, 2009

When our property was purchased five years ago, the building was connected to the city’s steam loop. This steam loop connected to very inefficient steam registers which heated the office spaces in the building during the colder months of the year. So, in an attempt to save money, the ownership group of 1102 GRAND installed two large cooling towers on the roof. Learn more about their affect:

To read more, download the rest of the article.

Tags: Bandwidth, Bandwith, cabinets, cage space, Caged Space, carrier hotel, carrier neutral data facility, Carriers, Co-location, co-location services, Colo, colocation, cross connect, data center, Data Center Security, data management, Data Suites, Disaster Recovery Solution, facility, Green IT, greening it, Information, Interconnection, Internet Hub, Internet Service Prodiver, meet me cage, meet me room, Midwest data center, Networking, peering, raised floors 1102 Grand, Raw Space, server, telecommunications, Web Hosting, whitepaper
Posted in Midwest data center | No Comments »

Greening IT: Updating old, outdated server equipment can save companies money

Wednesday, September 9th, 2009

Companies can make a significant impact in regards to energy usage by updating old, less energy efficient equipment. Here are some ideas on how to do so in an economically affect fashion.

To read more, download the rest of the article.

Choosing a Data Center: Fire Suppression

Wednesday, August 26th, 2009

A critical component of the space in any data center in fire suppression. To make sure your collocation equipment is safe, take a look at this article: 1102 GRAND

1102Grand2 194x300 Choosing a Data Center: Fire Suppression

Choosing a Data Center: Types of Racks and Equipment

Wednesday, August 26th, 2009

Racking and equipment options can start with the basic two-post racks or four post racks and move to the secure full and partial private cabinets. To see more information on equipment, look here: 1102 GRAND

servers 300x131 Choosing a Data Center: Types of Racks and Equipment

Disaster Recovery Solution

Monday, July 13th, 2009

Don’t be caught with your pants around your legs! 1102 Grand is offering full cabinets starting at $280 per month and 8×12 Private cage space starting at $1,120 per month. If you are interested, call us at 816-471-7872, or e-mail us at info@1102grand.com. By Greg

backupplan special email Disaster Recovery Solution

Tags: 1102 GRAND, Bandwidth, Bandwith, Boyd Group, cabinets, cage space, Caged Space, carrier hotel, carrier neutral data facility, Carriers, Co-location, co-location services, collocation provider, Colo, colocation, cross connect, data center, Data Center Security, data management, Data Suites, Disaster Recovery Solution, facility, Green IT, greening it, Interconnection, Internet Hub, Internet Service Prodiver, meet me cage, meet me room, Midwest data center, networking events, peering, raised flooring, raised floors, Raw Space, server, telecommunications, Telephony Hacking Ring, Web Hosting, whitepaper
Posted in Disaster Recovery Solution | No Comments »

Golf Tournament Was a Success!

Monday, July 6th, 2009

Picture this, 98 degrees (feels like 150), the clubs are hot to touch, and you are sweating in the shade. Would you think this is an ideal scenario for a golf tournament? Probably not. But despite the hot conditions, the 1102 GRAND Annual Golf Tournament, had almost 100 participants! We would like to thank our customers, vendors, others from the IT/Telecom community, and Deer Creek Golf Club for making the 4th Annual Tournament a success.

Congratulations to all the winners:

First Flight-

1st Place – James Networks
2nd Place – K&W Underground
3rd Place – Time Warner Cable Business Class

Second Flight-

1st Place – KCNAP
2nd Place – Lan-Tel Communications/tw telecom
3rd Place – 1102 GRAND/NIC/RSM McGladrey

Closest to the Pin – Don Burkhart (Mobile Communications Group)
Longest Putt (9) – Tim Lattimer (RSM McGladrey)
Men’s Longest Drive – Chris Hendrickson (James Networks)
Women’s Longest Drive – Carody Kephart (GSI)
Longest Putt (18) – Duke DeKay (1102 GRAND)

The tournament was also a rewarding networking opportunity for all. Ideas were exchanged, new introductions were made, and business deals are still unfolding as a result of the event. To us at 1102 GRAND, that makes it a success.

Now it is time to get to work on our next Networking Event at Boulevard Brewery. Mark your calendars for September 17th!

Here are a few team photos

Brad Hoffman, ISG; Miles Franz, ISG; Henry Weber, FuseMail; Bryan Heitman, FuseMail

ISG Golf Tournament Was a Success!

Don Burkhart, Mobile Communications Group; Carody Kephart, GSI; Jonathan Lavender, GSI; Kelly Kephart; GSI

Moblie Communications Golf Tournament Was a Success!

Craig Young, ShoMe Technologies; Brent Robinson, TW Telecom; Rod Couch, K-Powernet; DJ Good, LK Communications

ShoMe Golf Tournament Was a Success!

Chris Spear, David Edwards, Dan Hamilton and Steve Wilson of Wilson Construction

WilsonConstruction Golf Tournament Was a Success!

Larry Foland, Ted Bolin & Chris Rey of Time Warner Business Class

TWC Golf Tournament Was a Success!

Tags: 1102 GRAND, Add new tag, Bandwidth, Bandwith, Boyd Group, cabinets, cage space, Caged Space, carrier hotel, carrier neutral data facility, Carriers, Co-location, co-location services, collocation provider, colocation, cross connect, data center, Data Center Security, data management, Data Suites, Disaster Recovery Solution, facility, Green IT, greening it, Interconnection, Internet Hub, Internet Service Prodiver, meet me cage, meet me room, Midwest data center, networking events, peering, raised flooring, raised floors, Raw Space, server, telecommunications, Telephony Hacking Ring, Web Hosting, whitepaper
Posted in Networking | No Comments »

Wake-Up Call Needed after Feds Bust International Telephony Hacking Ring

Thursday, June 25th, 2009

So I have read a few of the articles over the past couple of weeks about the global phone system hacking ring that was recently busted up. The good news is this ring has been stopped. The bad part is that it happened after $55 million of long distance theft transpired. If you didn’t hear about this, the short version is that hackers used brute force to essentially hijack telephone extensions of 2500 corporate phone systems. Oversimplifying things quite a bit, the thieves then proceeded to reroute long distance minutes to overseas call centers and profited through the sale of those minutes. Beyond the issue of the crime at face value, it appears that a good portion of the profits were then transferred into the hands of Islamic fundamentalists.

So how in the world did this happen? First of all, toll fraud is not a new crime and was even more lucrative back in the days of sky high domestic and international long distance. Remember those days when mom would call the grandparents and sound like a speed reader trying to sync up on life while dad stood there tapping his watch and wondering if a second mortgage may be in the future? It seems like a distant memory in these days of unlimited minutes with free long distance on cell phones.

Anyway, I think the issue stemmed from two things: (1) people do not perceive toll fraud as a major threat any longer. In fact, I bet call accounting records are rarely kept let alone reviewed by very many companies these days, and (2) the recession nearly a decade ago saw separate telecom and IT departments at most organizations become a thing of the past. From my experience, I witnessed a lot of telecom staff being let go and the task of maintaining the phone system passed onto the IT department. As IP phone systems have matured, there is definitely some value in doing this anyway, but the problem is that these departments were generally not skilled/versed into the nuances of telecom and more importantly were already overworked and often under budgeted. So they never had the chance to really drill down and learn about things such as toll fraud, call accounting reports, etc.

One ironic thing I read had to do with default passwords. It turns out that the brute force necessary to hack some systems was not so brute after all. Well known default login and passwords were all that was necessary. This was left unchanged by many of the same people who cast judgment on the average employee who buys a SOHO wireless router for their home and just plugs it in and goes without changing the login/password or setting up security measures. So besides not judging non-technical employees, what is there to learn from this fiasco? There are several things but two items that stick out in my mind are (1) the industry needs to heed this as a wakeup call and realize that the threat of network attacks are not limited to data networks. Voice networks pose their own risks and challenges, and (2) Executive management at companies need to realize that security is not a luxury but rather a priority and start budgeting more money to address issues proactively rather than reactively. Why do companies have to be burned before they perceive any value in this space?

By Darren

Benefits of Midwest Data Centers

Monday, June 8th, 2009

Choosing a location for a data center or collocation presence is never an easy one. There is always the balancing act between uptime and affordability. One trend is apparent; however, the Midwest is clearly the most cost-effective location and should at least be considered when evaluating locations. While the Midwest may not be the best location for all businesses due to individual internal goals at a particular company, the region certainly has its merits.

Areas of the U.S. most affected by hurricanes

hurricane Benefits of Midwest Data Centers

Locating data centers in the Midwest is popular for several reasons including the lower costs for items such as power, real estate costs, construction, and labor. In addition, the Midwest has advantages in geography itself. Nearly all of the major fiber routes go through the Midwest in order to connect the east and west coasts. That means that many areas have access to a large number of providers within a given area. In addition, since network latency is related to distance, the latency is lower from the Midwest to either coast than it is from one coast to the other. Much of the Midwest is also located away from many of the natural disasters and other data center threats including: earthquakes, hurricanes, wild fires, and rolling power blackouts.

Areas of the U.S. most affected by Tsunamis

tsunami Benefits of Midwest Data Centers

When evaluating all of these criteria, it is no wonder that most data center location studies are largely comprised of Midwest locations such as Kansas City in their Top 10 lists. In fact, in the Boyd Group’s 2008 report, Kansas City was listed as the 2nd most affordable major market data center location. As the carrier hotel and internet hub for the region, we welcome the opportunity to discuss how we can help your organization and share what sets our facility apart from others in the Midwest.

Areas of the U.S. most affected by Wildfires

wildfire Benefits of Midwest Data Centers

By Darren

1102 GRAND Updates and Announcements

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Posts Tagged ‘Disaster Recovery Solution’

Kansas City Data Center 1102 GRAND Reviews: Updating Your Disaster Recovery Plan in 2012

Friday, December 30th, 2011

5 GRAND Questions w/ Greg

Monday, October 19th, 2009

Greening IT: Installation of cooling towers at 1102 GRAND significantly lowers energy bill

Monday, September 28th, 2009

Greening IT: Updating old, outdated server equipment can save companies money

Wednesday, September 9th, 2009

Choosing a Data Center: Fire Suppression

Wednesday, August 26th, 2009

Choosing a Data Center: Types of Racks and Equipment

Wednesday, August 26th, 2009

Disaster Recovery Solution

Monday, July 13th, 2009

Golf Tournament Was a Success!

Monday, July 6th, 2009

First Flight-

Second Flight-

Here are a few team photos

Wake-Up Call Needed after Feds Bust International Telephony Hacking Ring

Thursday, June 25th, 2009

Benefits of Midwest Data Centers

Monday, June 8th, 2009

Areas of the U.S. most affected by hurricanes

Areas of the U.S. most affected by Tsunamis

Areas of the U.S. most affected by Wildfires