EPI Releases New and Improved Data Center Operations Standard 2021 (DCOS® 2021)

SINGAPORE - Sept. 30, 2021 - PRLog -- Many datacenter operators and customers have realized that without adequate operations processes, their datacenters are at risk and could seriously impact their business. Research has evidence that most downtime are due to operational issues.

The problem is the absence of a complete standard specifically for datacenter operations. Typically, the industry uses generic standards such as ITIL®, ISO-9000, ISO-20000, ISO-27001, etc. While these are good benchmarks individually, they aren't a good fit for the complex datacenter operations environment. A mix-and-match of ISO standards which are generic, not integrated, and lacking the full scope of a datacenter puts the operators and their users at risk.

DCOS® addresses the 11 data center operations disciplines. It provides a structured approach to benchmark the operations maturity at 5 easy-to-understand levels;

• DCOS-1 – no or little documentation, monitoring, training and processes
• DCOS-2 – processes available but often undocumented, high reliance on personnel
• DCOS-3 – standardized and documented processes
• DCOS-4 – processes are measured and controlled with continuous improvement programs
• DCOS-5 – fully integrated processes with continuous improvement programs

These benchmarks allow operators to identify their current level and plan for progressive improvement.

They also serve datacenters customers when selecting datacenters that best suit their requirements, where critical applications are best served by datacenters at DCOS-5.

While DCOS® is extensive, it's also flexible.  Datacenter operators can choose which disciplines based on their priorities and business requirements.

According to Edward van Leent, Chairman & CEO, EPI Group, "I'm very excited with the release of DCOS® 2021.  DCOS® is developed following stringent ISO/ANSI development process. The DCOS® 2021 standard committee was multinational demonstrating a true global presence. It had 61 members from 26 countries covering 6 continents. The members are hands-on datacenter professionals from 44 organizations representing a broad range of industries. Many excellent points were brought up, debated, and voted on, before the final publication. The DCOS® 2021 is a vendor-neutral, open global standard."

Van Leent continues, "Data centers which undertakes the DCOS® certification are demonstrating good governance and transparency. Personally, I would recommend datacenters, whether enterprise or colo/cloud providers, to benchmark their operations instead of running 'blind'. Find out where you currently stand so you can reduce risks by delegating resources to higher risk areas. Do this progressively to make the datacenter safer, more reliable, and efficient.

"As for datacenter customers, it will be prudent to ask your datacenter providers for a DCOS® certification to validate their operations maturity and protect yourself. The DCOS® criteria is public, you can reference it for full transparency."

More - www.epi-ap.com/dcos.