While the IBM Mainframe is regarded as the Gold Standard for handling mission critical workloads and offering five nines of uptime, Disaster Recovery is critical in the event of a natural disaster, data center outage, or simply a hardware failure. However, the extreme reliability of IBM Z may prevent companies from developing effective strategies for recovering data and restoring operations after a traumatic event.
Mainframe disaster recovery matters today because of the mission-critical business value that mainframes and the data they manage hold for large enterprises. According to IBM, mainframes continue to process 70% of transactions globally across industries. IBM emphasizes the role mainframes play in the advancement of AI.
Mainframe users often face regulatory pressures and business continuity requirements that make disaster recovery vital. With mainframes handling mission-critical processes for enterprises and companies in highly regulated and fast-paced industries such as finance, even small and mid-size businesses need to understand the truth about disaster recovery to prevent catastrophic data loss, downtime, and reputational damage that may result from a sophisticated cyberattack or natural disaster.
To help mainframe users better prepare for the inevitable, we’re debunking some persistent disaster recovery myths.
Myth 1: My mainframe is too reliable to need a full disaster recovery plan.
Some mainframe users may think that the mainframe is invincible because of its Reliability, Availability, Serviceability (RAS) and 99.999% uptime. While mainframes are designed to be secure and reliable through built-in redundancy and fault tolerance, they are still vulnerable to disasters. Mainframe users need a complete disaster recovery plan to prepare for potential hardware failures, site outages, and human error. PSR can support a disaster recovery plan through our managed mainframe services and hosting and co-location offerings.
Myth 2: I need on-site disaster recovery for my mainframe.
Companies may be setting up mainframe disaster recovery at the wrong site. Many organizations that use mainframes need out-of-region disaster recovery. At PSR, we offer mainframe hosting and DraaS at sites in Alabama our Massachusetts and Tennessee. sites. Establishing Mainframe DR at a co-location site may also provide the most cost-effective way to implement a DR solution utilizing mirrored storage in order to achieve the fastest RTOs and RPOs.
Myth 3: A disaster recovery plan is “set it and forget it.”
Companies may think that developing a formal disaster recovery plan once is enough to protect the mainframe for the long term. Threats to the mainframe evolve over time as cybercriminals use new attack vectors and natural disasters systems become more extreme. To validate reliability, mainframe users need to conduct regular testing of their IBM Z disaster recovery plan. Testing should take place at least once a year and include a code level review, assessment of new data volumes, evaluation of hardware support, and consideration of how assumptions about successful recovery have changed. Once testing is completed, organizations should make any necessary updates.
Myth 4: Disaster Recovery is about data loss, not performance or latency.
Data loss after a disaster is a concern for mainframe users because of the mission critical data-intensive workloads that mainframes process. However, mainframes meeting RTOs and RPOs is an essential part of disaster recovery as downtime can have a direct impact on revenue. These metrics ensure that data is complete, accurate, and current after a traumatic event. The regulated industries that rely on mainframes need high-performing replication to support in-transaction workloads. As part of full-service disaster recovery services for mainframes, PSR delivers hosting, co-location, DRaaS, and replication for IBM Z.
Why Choose PSR for Mainframe Disaster Recovery
When your company gets disaster recovery right, you benefit from assured business continuity, regulatory compliance, cost control, and increased availability. Now that we’ve debunked myths about mainframe disaster recovery, it’s time for your company to build a disaster recovery strategy for a resilient mainframe. Working with an expert partner will help you create the right plan for protecting your mainframe.
PSR is the ideal partner for mainframe disaster recovery services. We have been focused exclusively on the mainframe since 1981 and are the only IBM Business Partner dedicated to IBM Z. We provide a full spectrum of mainframe managed services for IBM Z Systems, including 24/7 support, hosting and co-location, systems programming, and disaster recovery.
PSR can help your company assess your current environment, set RTOs and RPOs, select replication tools, and test your IBM Z disaster recovery plan regularly. Our mainframe support expertise allows your company to overcome the mainframe skills gap that stands in the way of achieving seamless disaster recovery.
Is your mainframe disaster recovery based on myth or reality? Reach out to PSR today for a mainframe disaster recovery readiness assessment.
