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Automation Not The Solution For Human Error: Page 2 of 2

We've all had our share of misfortunes with IT devices and services that have failed to perform as expected in an increasingly information-centric world. But as much as we may want to fault the technology, it appears that we are to blame in the majority of cases, at least as far as data-center outages. The solution is not to replace humans with lights-out automation, but provide better training, processes and procedures, says Julian Kudritzki, vice president of the Uptime Institute. "It's the sa
November 24, 2010

IT management is aware of the problems but they're overworked and under-funded, says Kudritzki. "The response has been we'll go with more automation. There are some slick solutions... (but) technology might not be the answer. It might come down to fundamentals, sufficient training and appropriate processes and procedures."

The first step in addressing this issue is to ascertain what you do and don't have, he says. "Once you're looked at what's there, determine whether it's effective and then sharpen your knives." The key is to run your data center like emergency, fire or submarine crews. "That's why you see so many ex-military in data-center operations... the military is a process and procedure environment."

Created to provide third-party research, education, and consulting focused on improving data center performance and efficiency, the Institute serves enterprise and third-party operators, manufacturers, providers, and engineers. Late last year it was acquired by IT market analyst firm 451 Group.

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