Maintenance Program Audit
With decades of experience auditing data centers, we find that maintenance programs are often a weak link in your availability chain. There are numerous reasons: change of staff, lack of clear roles and responsibilities within IT/Facilities/Procurement, poor turnover from construction team to operational team, lack of sufficient documentation, etc. On-going maintenance is foundational to achieving data center availability and it is critical to ensure your program reflects operational excellence.
We have developed a process for investigating maintenance programs. It combines rigorous review of SOWs, written processes, schedules, and contracts with site surveys and personnel interviews of internal staff. It can be extended to include your vendor’s technicians and field support staff.
We look at a program holistically to consider the appropriateness of service levels of existing contracts as well identify gaps in your program. The age of your systems must be considered, and, in certain cases, the scope of service must be adjusted. Our deliverable comprises a report and/or presentation outlining areas of concern, risk, and corresponding recommendations.
Our Point of View
If data center availability is your primary concern, don’t risk that by selecting the lowest cost provider.
A longer maintenance contract with established not-to-exceed escalations could help you solidify your budgeting. It also might be an avenue towards cost reduction.
We Work Differently
We spend time upfront with our clients iterating on a SOW until you feel comfortable. In addition to empowering our clients to have significant input into the creation of the SOW, it provides an opportunity to see how we work and get to know us. This builds confidence in the relationship and results in a tighter, better financially targeted SOW.
Our clients seek independent advice to solve difficult issues. As a third-party, we are the outside voice and don’t bring organizational bias with us. Fodere’s guidance will always be aligned with your organization’s goals.