Compaq ProLiant 2000 Eliminating Single Points of Failure and Enabling Rapid R - Page 3

ECG0094/1197 Eliminating Single Points of Failure (cont.) ... INTRODUCTION Compaq researches and develops server subsystems expressly to eliminate single points of failure and minimize downtime through fault-prevention, fault-tolerance, and rapid-recovery technologies. Compaq emphasizes reliability, along with performance and other critical characteristics, because the cost of system downtime is a pressing concern to businesses of every size and variety. According to a 1996 study by Contingency Planning Research, the cost associated with system failure is enormous  as much as $7.3 million per hour (Figure 1). Even in less network-dependent companies, the cost is in the hundreds of thousands of dollars per hour. Source: Contingency Planning Research, Inc. Business Industry Impact Range per Hour Average Impact per Hour Average Impact per Minute Brokerage Finance $5.6-$7.3 M $6.45 M $107.5 K Credit Card Sales Authorization Finance $2.2-$3.1 M $2.6 M $43.3 K Catalog Sales Retail $60-$120 K $90 K $1.5 K Package Shipping Transport $24.5-$32 K $28 K $466 ATM Network Finance $12-$17 K $14.5 K $242 Figure 1: System failure is costly for today's businesses. In light of the expense of lost business, data, productivity, and administrative time, companies now measure "acceptable" downtime in minutes  or even seconds  according to Demand Assessment Requirements Tracking Study, Executive Summary, 1996, by the Standish Group International (Figure 2). System availability is essential for companies in a broad range of industries.