ePLDT launches first disaster recovery facility in Cebu

ePLDT, the ICT arm of PLDT Enterprise and the premier provider of holistic digital business solutions in the Philippines, has launched its first disaster recovery (DR) facility in Cebu.

Housed in ePLDT’s VITRO Data Center Cebu 2—the biggest purpose-built data center facility outside Luzon—the disaster recovery facility will enable Cebu-based enterprises in developing their own Business Continuity Plan (BCP) and becoming compliant with global standards. It benefits from all the service level agreements (SLAs) available within the facility which includes physical resiliency and power redundancy—making it an ideal business continuity site for manpower relocation and a backup site for information technology (IT) infrastructure in the event of a disaster.

A disaster recovery facility serves as a data backup site or alternative office space which companies can use to recover and restore its IT systems or operations in the event of a failure or natural disaster. The site is a crucial component of any company’s BCP and part of standards on operational risk management. Highly regulated industries such as banking and financial institutions are required to abide by a clear and complete BCP to keep its services running no matter the circumstance. This is especially true given the crucial role of the BFSI industry in the country’s economy and the daily lives of Filipinos.

Jovy Hernandez, ePLDT president and chief executive officer and senior vice president and head for PLDT and Smart Enterprise Business Groups, said “the Cebu DR facility is part of ePLDT’s initiatives to fortify businesses’ BCPs as we continue to face disasters and disruptions. We believe that disaster recovery is key to strengthen the resiliency of businesses.”

The disaster recovery facility will have 100 DR seats available for enterprises. With an area of roughly 250 square meters and a shared conference room, the VITRO Cebu 2 facility offers both dedicated or shared seats options.

Nico Alcoseba, vice president and head of ICT Business for PLDT Enterprise, noted that “with the mission of becoming the top-of-mind back-up facility for enterprises, Cebu’s DR facility is also assured of being seismic zone-four compliant, which means it is able to withstand strong earthquakes, and with 12 layers of security, businesses are assured of its safety and security.”

These features ensure the operational continuity of businesses in the event of power failures, which is further backed by ePLDT’s 24/7 security and customer support. The facility is designed to minimize vibrations on the building where the servers are co-located, therefore ensuring optimum protection of the customer’s equipment.

VITRO Cebu 2 is one of the first three data centers in the Philippines to receive the ANSI/TIA-942 Rated 3 Facilities Certification and is also recognized by NTT Communications as a Nexcenter-accredited facility, complying with the global design standards of the world’s most competitive data centers. (PR)