The global silicon chip shortage is creating major problems for organizations worldwide. Regrettably, we fear this is only the beginning.

In this episode of IT Availability Now, Servaas Verbiest, Lead Cloud Evangelist at Sungard Availability Services (Sungard AS), examines the current semiconductor shortfall and breaks down how it’s pushing businesses to modify their IT strategy. Listen to the full episode to learn:

• The implications of the chip shortage on businesses
• Why the chip shortage is accelerating cloud adoption
• The most pressing concerns organizations must address amidst a sudden shift in their IT strategy
• The benefits of performing a workload analysis and why it’s more important than ever
• Steps companies can take to minimize costs as their cloud footprint grows 

Brian Fawcett is a Senior Manager of Global Sales Engagement at Sungard AS. With over 15 years of experience in a range of industries, he specializes in forming enterprise-wide global talent and learning development programs. Brian has enriched corporate learning culture by matching organizational vision and core values to curricula, leading to application and impact.

As the Lead Cloud Evangelist at Sungard AS, Servaas Verbiest assists businesses and organizations in realizing the full potential of cloud computing by thinking strategically, deploying rapidly, and acting as an ambassador for the cloud ecosystem. While at Sungard AS, Servaas has worked with more than 1,000 unique clients across multiple industries on complex application deployments, re-platforming, public cloud integrations, private cloud deployments, application lifecycle, and hybrid cloud model development.

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The full transcript of this episode is available below.

Despite recognizing the value of performing a business impact analysis (BIA) before developing a full business continuity (BC) plan, most organizations don’t carry out BIAs with any regularity. 

In this episode of IT Availability Now, Jon Murry, Principal Consultant at Sungard Availability Services (Sungard AS), walks us through why it’s imperative to frequently conduct a BIA and how this will make your business more resilient. Listen to the full episode to learn:

●        The core functions of a BIA

●        The problem with treating BIAs as a one-off affair

●        What factors businesses should consider when conducting a BIA

●        How a BIA can help an organization calculate the cost of downtime

Brian Fawcett is a Senior Manager of Global Sales Engagement at Sungard AS. With over 15 years of experience in a range of industries, he specializes in forming enterprise-wide global talent and learning development programs. Brian has enriched corporate learning culture by matching organizational vision and core values to curricula, leading to application and impact.

Jon Murry has over 20 years of experience with business operations, corporate-wide crisis management and business continuity strategy and planning. As Principal Consultant, he leads a team of business continuity, disaster recovery and cyber security consultants in the risk and resilience practice at Sungard AS.

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The full transcript of this episode is available below.

Cloud solutions aren’t one size fits all. Unfortunately, too many organizations turn to a private or public cloud without fully considering their overall business goals, resulting in missed opportunities and unrealized value on their investment. 

In this episode of IT Availability Now, Edwina Murphy, Lead Cloud Specialist at Sungard AS, discusses what companies need to think about when shaping their cloud journey and how to avoid common pitfalls. Listen to the full episode to learn:

●        Questions businesses should ask themselves before blindly jumping to the cloud

●        Why organizations are quick to select public cloud and why that’s not always the answer

●        When to choose a private cloud over public cloud

●        Why cloud is more about business strategy than technology

●        Words of wisdom that will ensure a smoother path to the cloud

Brian Fawcett is a Senior Manager of Global Sales Engagement at Sungard AS. With over 15 years of experience in a range of industries, he specializes in forming enterprise-wide global talent and learning development programs. Brian has enriched corporate learning culture by matching organizational vision and core values to curricula, leading to application and impact.

Ed Murphy is the EMEA cloud specialist team lead, where she supports customers through complex challenges and helps them adopt creative, robust, efficient, secure and resilient cloud solutions to transform business. Ed holds over a decade of experience in working with private, public and hybrid cloud solutions and managed services.

Listen and subscribe to IT Availability Now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Podchaser, deezer, Podcast Addict, Listen Notes, and more.

There were more ransomware attacks in the first half of 2021 than in all of 2020, and attacks are up 185% year over year in the U.S. alone, per recent research.

To make matters worse, not only is the upsurge in ransomware attacks likely to continue, but businesses are also much more susceptible than they realize. Fortunately, they can do something about it. 

In this episode of IT Availability Now, Shawn Burke, Global Chief Security Officer at Sungard Availability Services (Sungard AS), and Shannon Davis, Global Partner Security Expert at Alert Logic, examine preventive measures organizations can take to combat this growing threat. Listen to the full episode to learn:

●        The most vital technology components every company needs in its security program

●        The importance of managed detection and response (MDR), how it gives businesses a complete 360-degree view of their security landscape and what it requires to be effective

●        How a strong incident response plan can minimize disruption

●        How Sungard AS’ new advanced security solutions powered by Alert Logic will allow businesses to take a more proactive approach to cybersecurity

Brian Fawcett is a Senior Manager of Global Sales Engagement at Sungard AS. With over 15 years of experience in a range of industries, he specializes in forming enterprise-wide global talent and learning development programs. Brian has enriched corporate learning culture by matching organizational vision and core values to curricula, leading to application and impact.

As Sungard AS' Global Chief Security Officer, Shawn Burke is responsible for security governance across the enterprise and real-time protection of the company's global infrastructure. With  more than 20 years of service provider-oriented expertise, Shawn advises on infrastructure evolution and product direction. His core responsibilities include overseeing security strategy, compliance, physical and cyber security, policy, and operations support.

Shannon Davis is a Global Partner Security Expert at Alert Logic. As a security expert, he regularly consults with customers and prospects to increase awareness of the current threat landscape and the security solutions and best practices available to protect from and respond to threats. As a partner enablement leader, he is focused on developing and investing in strategic relationships that allow those concepts and conversations to scale globally across a network of Alert Logic partners. 

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While 75% of companies are currently utilizing a hybrid work model, doubts about security remain a legitimate concern.

Only one in five businesses are very confident their infrastructure security can support prolonged remote work, and under 8% are very confident their security protections against phishing and ransomware attacks are adequate in a largely virtual environment.

In this episode of IT Availability Now, Asher de Metz, Security Consulting Senior Manager at Sungard AS, discusses how to properly secure a long-term hybrid workforce and examines data from two recent surveys conducted by The Harris Poll and research firm Pulse on behalf of Sungard AS. Listen to the full episode to learn:

●        Why hybrid work isn’t going away anytime soon

●        What makes securing a hybrid environment so difficult  

●        Cybersecurity measures businesses need in place to support long-term hybrid work  

●        How to confirm your organization is taking the right precautions and there are no security gaps  

Brian Fawcett is a Senior Manager of Global Sales Engagement at Sungard AS. With over 15 years of experience in a range of industries, he specializes in forming enterprise-wide global talent and learning development programs. Brian has enriched corporate learning culture by matching organizational vision and core values to curricula, leading to application and impact.

As Security Consulting, Senior Manager at Sungard AS, Asher de Metz helps companies identify risks and secure their systems by conducting security audits and tests to avoid cybersecurity attacks. With almost 20 years of experience in information technology and security, Asher has been involved in hundreds of IT-security projects and has provided security counsel to some of the largest companies throughout the U.K., Europe, Middle East and North America within the financial, government, retail, healthcare, insurance and manufacturing industries. 

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The full transcript of this episode is available now.

The true value in cloud adoption comes from optimization. Regrettably, many organizations don’t know how to achieve this, leaving them struggling to plan for a future where technology changes frequently. 

This typically results in the following dilemma: Should they take a DIY approach to cloud optimization or seek help from a managed service provider? 

In this episode of IT Availability Now, Edwina Murphy, Lead Cloud Specialist at Sungard AS, dissects this debate and looks at questions companies should ask before deciding the best route for their cloud journey. Listen to the full episode to learn:

●        Why cloud optimization is so crucial right now

●        The challenges associated with managing multiple environments

●        The reasons why businesses remain devoted to DIY

●        The benefits of using managed services and how to determine the right provider 

●        Why assessing the market value of change is a worthwhile measuring stick

Brian Fawcett is a Senior Manager of Global Sales Engagement at Sungard AS. With over 15 years of experience in a range of industries, he specializes in forming enterprise-wide global talent and learning development programs. Brian has enriched corporate learning culture by matching organizational vision and core values to curricula, leading to application and impact.

Ed Murphy is the EMEA cloud specialist team lead, where she supports customers through complex challenges and helps them adopt creative, robust, efficient, secure and resilient cloud solutions to transform business. Ed holds over a decade of experience in working with private, public and hybrid cloud solutions and managed services.

Listen and subscribe to IT Availability Now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Podchaser, deezer, Podcast Addict, Listen Notes, and more.

The cloud computing market is expected to reach $832 billion by 2025. Despite the inherent benefits of the cloud, some businesses are reluctant to fully commit because it would replace existing infrastructure they’ve already put money into. 

Luckily, it doesn’t have to be an either-or scenario.

In this episode of IT Availability Now, Servaas Verbiest, Lead Cloud Evangelist at Sungard Availability Services (Sungard AS), discusses how your organization can migrate to the cloud without abandoning existing infrastructure investments. Listen to the full episode to learn: 

●        Why companies should consider the cloud even if they have another infrastructure in place

●        Common roadblocks businesses face when advancing to the cloud, and how to overcome them

●        How to formulate a cloud migration plan that factors in your current infrastructure

●        What a business’ process should look like for taking its first steps in the cloud

Brian Fawcett is a Senior Manager of Global Sales Engagement at Sungard AS. With over 15 years of experience in a range of industries, he specializes in forming enterprise-wide global talent and learning development programs. Brian has enriched corporate learning culture by matching organizational vision and core values to curricula, leading to application and impact.

As the Lead Cloud Evangelist at Sungard AS, Servaas Verbiest assists businesses and organizations in realizing the full potential of cloud computing by thinking strategically, deploying rapidly, and acting as an ambassador for the cloud ecosystem. While at Sungard AS, Servaas has worked with more than 1,000 unique clients across multiple industries on complex application deployments, re-platforming, public cloud integrations, private cloud deployments, application lifecycle, and hybrid cloud model development.

Listen and subscribe to IT Availability Now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Podchaser, deezer, Podcast Addict, Listen Notes, and more.

Organizations migrate to the cloud for countless reasons. But moving to the cloud just to move to the cloud shouldn’t be one of them.

In this episode of IT Availability Now, Leon Godwin, Principal Cloud Evangelist at Sungard Availability Services (Sungard AS) discusses what businesses should consider before embarking on a cloud journey and shares the principles that will guide you to a successful cloud-enabled transformation. Listen to the full episode to learn:

●        Why certain companies are more prepared to shift to the cloud than others

●        The common agents of change that influence your cloud journey and how to approach them to optimize your transformation

●        How to address the growing skills gap that prevents businesses from flourishing in the cloud

●        The elements that make up the “market value of change,” and why you can’t maximize the potential benefits of the cloud without them

Brian Fawcett is a Senior Manager of Global Sales Engagement at Sungard AS. With over 15 years of experience in a range of industries, he specializes in forming enterprise-wide global talent and learning development programs. Brian has enriched corporate learning culture by matching organizational vision and core values to curricula, leading to application and impact.

Leon Godwin is the Principal Cloud Evangelist at Sungard AS. As a cloud evangelist, Leon balances the duties of a product marketer with being one of Sungard AS’s direct links to customers. Building a critical mass of support for cloud technologies through thought leadership, enthusiasm and many years of experience, Leon aids customers with complex challenges and helps them adopt creative, robust and efficient cloud solutions.

Listen and subscribe to IT Availability Now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Podchaser, deezer, Podcast Addict, Listen Notes, and more.

Cloud services provider Fastly experienced an outage in June that knocked down websites such as Reddit, Twitch, Hulu, The New York Times, and more for nearly an hour. Unfortunately, incidents like this are far too common.

IT outages cost businesses $5,600 per minute – equating to over $300,000 per hour – according to Gartner and can result in long-lasting damage to their brand’s reputation. In this episode of IT Availability Now, Edwina Murphy, Lead Cloud Specialist for the EMEA Region at Sungard AS, discusses how to keep your organization from suffering the same fate. Listen to the full episode to learn:

●        Critical steps businesses must take to prevent IT outages

●        Ways to make certain your employees are prepared for disruption

●        How to ensure you can successfully recover in your disaster recovery location if production and IT systems fail

Brian Fawcett is a Senior Manager of Global Sales Engagement at Sungard AS. With over 15 years of experience in a range of industries, he specializes in forming enterprise-wide global talent and learning development programs. Brian has enriched corporate learning culture by matching organizational vision and core values to curricula, leading to application and impact.

Ed Murphy is the EMEA cloud specialist team lead, where she supports customers through complex challenges and helps them adopt creative, robust, efficient, secure and resilient cloud solutions to transform business. Ed holds over a decade of experience in working with private, public and hybrid cloud solutions and managed services.

Listen and subscribe to IT Availability Now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Podchaser, deezer, Podcast Addict, Listen Notes, and more.

COVID-19 has drastically altered the way businesses run and, in the process, completely reshaped the job description for CIOs. Chris Fielding, Chief Information Officer at Sungard Availability Services (Sungard AS), is here to share her experience with us.

In this episode of IT Availability Now, Fielding discusses the shifting CIO role and what executives must do to effectively navigate the new demands of the job, as well as how she’s embraced her expanded responsibilities. Listen to the full episode to learn:

• How the role of the CIO has changed, and what it will look like moving forward.
• Ways CIOs can adapt to the post-pandemic landscape, including managing fully remote teams
• How businesses embraced technology during the pandemic and how to champion new technology to meet your future business needs 

Brian Fawcett is a Senior Manager of Global Sales Engagement at Sungard AS. With over 15 years of experience in a range of industries, he specializes in forming enterprise-wide global talent and learning development programs. Brian has enriched corporate learning culture by matching organizational vision and core values to curricula, leading to application and impact.

Chris Fielding is the Chief Information Officer for Sungard AS. She joined the company in 2008 and held several positions before taking on her current role in January of 2018. A seasoned IT leader with over 30 years of experience in the global arena, Chris previously held senior-level positions at TIBCO, Vodafone and Oracle. She graduated with a master’s in Information Technology from Aston University.

Listen and subscribe to IT Availability Now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Podchaser, deezer, Podcast Addict, Listen Notes, and more.