Introduction to NonStop Operations Management

Overview of NonStop Operations Management
Introduction to NonStop Operations Management–125507
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Managing Operations From an End-User’s
Perspective
Managing Operations From an End-User’s
Perspective
Today’s globalization of consumers and the demand for increased customer service
require that many businesses offer services around the clock. Offering services around
the clock requires computer, network, and application services that are available all the
time. To ensure that you are supporting the demands of your company’s customers,
Tandem suggests that you monitor and measure the availability of systems and
applications from the end-users’ perspective.
Availability and the High Cost of Down Time
Tandem defines availability as the total time an application running on a Tandem system
can be accessed by a user of that application. When an application is unavailable, your
business becomes vulnerable to various types of losses, such as lost revenue, lost
consumer confidence, and lost productivity.
For example, if the application is a revenue-generating service, such as an automated
teller machine (ATM) application or a long-distance telephone network application, the
business suffers an immediate loss of revenue and continues to lose revenue until the
system comes back online.
Consider another example: An airline reservation system that is 99.1 percent available
per week translates to 90 minutes of down time per week. At an estimated cost of
$36,000 per minute, the company loses revenues of $3.24 million per week.
Lost productivity, management dissatisfaction, and overtime costs can be even more
costly than lost revenue.
Viewing Availability From an End-User’s Perspective
Tandem recommends that the measurement of availability be from the end-user’s
perspective. For example, it is not enough to record that a certain hardware or software
component has gone down. You must also take into consideration the user’s ability to
access the service, the quality of the service provided, and whether or not the response
time is acceptable to the user.
Traditional Measurements
The computer industry has traditionally reported availability in percentages. While this
measurement is valid, it is difficult to envision and use. Consider this example: An
employee at a company complains that the LAN is “always down.” The LAN manager
responds that the LAN is up 95 percent of the time; however, 95 percent may not be as
impressive at is sounds. Table 1-1 shows how some percentages break down in a 40-hour
workweek: