There has been a lot of talk across the web about TypePad having issues with slow service, downtime, etc, etc, etc. We all suffer downtime from time to time. That is why 90% of us providers have a 99.5% guarantee not a 100% uptime guarantee. Things happen, growth, unexpected power or hardware failures, software crashes… In light of this, I have to touch on a company that I have spotlighted over at ReciprocityBlog.com; TeamQuest Corporation; experts in IT Service Optimization and Capacity Planning. They are a software development company located in Clear Lake, Iowa. The specialize in Performance Management and Capacity Planning. The folks that work out there have tremendous knowledge and ability to rival the largest corporate conglomerates. I have seen first hand the quality, professional, and talented people that create the software, model it, and provide the marketing for it. Their sales staff is very friendly and will work with you to create a substantial ROI for your company. TypePad/SixApart would seriously benefit from implementing software solutions from TeamQuest. They would be able to future-cast issues with hardware, bottlenecking, etc. Check out the TeamQuest website…http://www.teamquest.com for more information. Read what IT Jungle had to say about them back in August 2005 http://www.itjungle.com/tfh/tfh080805-story05.html#6 I highly recommend the solutions from TeamQuest Corporation.

I want this Blog to be more than just a forum for me to rant about what I think.  I want to know what you, the reader and client think.

 Leave your comments.  Let’s communicate, let’s conversate and get everything out in the open.

My Blog is your Blog… (almost).

 Christian

Since Hurricane Rita has swept us off our feet, literally, I decided to post some thoughts on Contingency Planning. We had to seriously re-evaluate our hosting and application facilities, and take into consideration that businesses that we support.

We do not have much lead way to have any of our systems down for more than a few hours. Personally, I think that 24 hours is pushing it. But, with the proper contingency planning, that can be more than just a fantasy. We did not have any emergency plan, or contingency if anything happened to our facilities. We took it for granted that the systems never went offline for more than an hour during the last Hurricane. But, did we ever get a wake up call!

I recently met with a great friend, Phil Ripperger about some of our needs and contingency. I have also had conversations with Addison Zugg at DataVision, Inc., and I have also talked with one of our competitors whom I admire… Michael Bird at Spindustry Systems.

Phil and I talked about a few different options, but decided on what we thought would be the best options. Here are a few companies that we discussed for our contingency planning.

TextDrive - Hosting Strongspace - Storage Facilities

Combined with our new Contingency plan, we can have simultaneous back-ups, and mirrored files. Here is the simple breakdown structure for what we are doing:

We continue to develop, host, and manage sites as we have been. We run scripts every fifteen minutes to check that our servers, including database and e-mail, are running properly. If there are any issues, we will be notified within 15 minutes of the issue. Most of the time, the script will seek out and resolve the issues. At the same time, all files, including database but not including e-mails (security policy), will be backed up to TextDrive AND Strongspace. If our normal servers are down for any reason, we simply point our DNS/Sites to TextDrive facilities. We also have a continuous back up at Strongspace. With this double redundant back up structure, we will be able to maintain complete file structure and web presence.

Our 99.5% uptime guarantee may change to 99.9%… Now the bad news… Our cheap, super low priced hosting fees have to go up to compensate for the added contingencies. These fees will simply aid in the hosting process. I am certain that our clients (you) will understand this, and appreciate the added security that your web sites, applications, e-mail, and data will not be lost or offline for more than a few hours at the most. We are working on this Contingency Plan and Emergency Plans, and should have them in place by the end of 2005.

Got a Blog?

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What is a blog?
It’s a real-time communication tool. It’s a way to update content on your site immediately. Oh, and search engines love blogs.
It’s time to incorporate blogs and feeds into your business strategy.

Take the Blog Discovery chart and find your level of blogging:

(10-16) - Fly on the Wall
Know what’s being said about your company and industry. Know who’s listening. Subscribe to feeds

(17-23) - Outreach Specialist
Communicate with bloggers covering your industry. Take an active part in the conversations. Use different forms of media to get your message out there.

(24-30) - Blogging Maven
Business Blogging is the future, and you should be there with it.

Come visit us:
Great Des Moines Business Expo link
Hy-Vee Hall (Iowa Events Center)
October 5, 2005 - 5:00pm - 7:00pm

Credit: Mike Sansone