The M&O Stamp of Approval is an outcome-based guideline that centres on operational excellence and was developed based on analysing the root cause of 20 years of outages in high-performance data centres. M&O moves beyond a subjective “best practices” approach, looking at why data centres fail and how to minimize, if not eliminate, operator errors and management shortfalls. Uptime Institute has long held that the leading cause of data centre failures is operations related, and a well-run, legacy data centre may out-perform a poorly run data centre featuring a more robust or modern design.
“We view Uptime Institute as the preeminent global authority on data centre standards and believe that businesses should hold their data centre providers to high standards for operational excellence,” says David Meredith, senior vice president at CenturyLink. “A data centre’s design is a strong foundation, but keeping businesses running 24/7 requires solid processes and highly qualified staff. CenturyLink is resolute in our commitment to our data centre teams—excellence in training, processes and procedures—and the proven results of high-availability data centres.”
“This commitment shows that CenturyLink has the confidence to be open and transparent about its industry-recognized data centre facilities, operations and management, and we are honoured that the company will use our Management & Operations Stamp of Approval as the standard across its global footprint,” says Lee Kirby, CTO of Uptime Institute. “By adopting an industry standard for existing operations, CenturyLink assures its clients that retirement, turnover, and contractor selection will not disrupt the fundamentals of the operations—and that availability levels remain steady. We applaud CenturyLink for volunteering for a level of scrutiny that no other company has undertaken at this scale, which inherently challenges others in the marketplace to reveal themselves as openly. As organizations evaluate data centre providers, M&O certification should be noted as a meaningful competitive differentiation.”
In addition to committing to M&O Stamp of Approval across its portfolio, CenturyLink has also received several Tier Certifications from Uptime Institute for recent data centre build projects in the U.S., Canada, and Hong Kong.