AUSTIN, Texas — September 29, 2005 — Garden Ridge, a leader in home-decorating accessories, with 35 stores in 13 states, awarded Data Foundry a multi-year disaster recovery services contract. Garden Ridge will utilize one of Data Foundry’s geographically dispersed Data Centers and occupy a custom- built cage to house their critical IT infrastructure in the event of a local disaster. The cage will be located in a hardened 40,000-square-foot Data Center and Work-Site Recovery Center within Data Foundry’s Disaster Recovery Campus.
Garden Ridge migrated to Data Foundry after performing a stringent due diligence process which included analysis of several disaster recovery facilities in the Texas region. “This initiative is a serious priority for Garden Ridge and decisions like this are not made overnight. My team developed a detailed list of questions for all the vendors we visited and performed several on-site tours. We chose Data Foundry based on the caliber of their Austin Disaster Recovery Campus and its location– outside of Houston, but close enough to deploy if needed– and customization of a secure cage solution that fit our unique needs,” said Jay Dittmar, Director of IT Infrastructure for Garden Ridge.
The contract comes as more Houston-based companies are seeking disaster recovery services that give them the security of a data center located within driving distance of Houston, which is prone to flooding and other severe natural disaster risks, yet far enough away to escape those threats. “Operating one of the most fortified Data Centers in Houston, located 76 feet above ground level in the Galleria area, as well as our world-class Austin Data Center located on the Data Foundry Disaster Recovery Campus, that’s in close proximity to an airport, and offers hotels and restaurants, provides us with a major competitive edge over many vendors in the local market,” said Jonah Yokubaitis, CEO and co-founder of Data Foundry.
“Companies seeking ultimate redundancy can choose to outsource their primary IT infrastructure in our Houston Data Center and use our Austin Disaster Recovery Campus for their secondary site. With private network connections between all our data centers, customers stay connected to their critical data at all times.”
Bob Janusaitis (CBCP, CISA, CISM), a 25-year veteran in IT disaster recovery planning and CEO of Business911 International, Inc. specializing in IT Governance and Risk Management, stated, “It’s been my experience that too many companies overlook all the risks associated with implementing a disaster recovery plan that calls for the secondary site to be located in the same city as their primary site. The risks of implementing this strategy range from shared city power grids, inability to traverse local streets, over subscription to the local facility, and the affect on human capital that supports the secondary site in a true disaster scenario. I encourage a ‘forward placement’ philosophy which calls for getting people and data out of harms way if at all possible. This means putting distance between the disaster event and your secondary site.” Janusaitis went on to say, “In my 25 years of experience I’ve examined many disaster recovery companies, and none match what Data Foundry offers in terms of years in the market, quality of staff, and the turnkey approach of having a Houston Data Center for local convenience and an Austin Data Center located on the Data Foundry Disaster Recovery Campus 150 miles away which gives companies true assurance their business can and will survive if the worst-case scenario affects Houston.”
Garden Ridge’s Director of IT Infrastructure, Jay Dittmar said, “Data Foundry is able to offer Garden Ridge world-class facilities on a regional basis and we’re enjoying a higher level of attention and flexibility than we’ve experienced from other providers. Given the recent activity with hurricane season, it’s reassuring to know that if an event affects the Houston area, our computing infrastructure is safely located well outside of the epicenter.”
About Garden Ridge
Garden Ridge is a privately held home décor retailer based in Houston, Texas with 35 stores in 13 states. For more information, visit www.gardenridge.com
About Business911 International, Inc.
Business911 International provides comprehensive enterprise-wide expert guidance on IT Governance and Information Technology Risk Management. Business911 International certified consultants have decades of experience assisting some of the world’s largest organizations. For more information, visit www.business911.com
