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"Our
systems have only been down once in the last 10 years
for as long as 24 hours," said Larry Wells, Vice
President of Information Systems, SOS Metals, Inc.,
"but that was enough for us to try and prepare
for every 'what if' possibility in the future".
SOS
Metals, Inc., a subsidiary of Marubeni-Itochu Steel
of America (MISA), was founded in 1945 and has grown
from a small steel salvage operation into a specialized
company in the metals distribution industry. The SOS
service center processes over 500,000 tons of steel
each year for critical demand applications, and guarantees
top-quality, just-in-time processing of metal products
for customers in the automotive, appliance, light
fixtures, and other industries.
This
production level relies on midrange computers, IBM®
AS/400s in fact, which Wells describes as the "heart
and soul" of the company in terms of data access
and productivity. "Although we could continue
processing in manual mode for a short time, catching
up after the fact would have a big impact on total
production," said Wells. "The reality is,
there really can't be any downtime."
As
a result, business continuity plans are in hand, and
are continuously updated, but implementing them remains
one of SOS Metals' biggest IT challenges. SOS Metals'
plan includes remote servers that will keep processing
machinery running for up to seventy-two hours. Additionally,
there is continuous back-up and journals off-site
that would allow a complete restore in just a few
hours.
"Many
of my colleagues worry about the next big cyberattack,"
added Wells, "but 'what if' the sprinkler system malfunctions
and floods our entire network system? That's one that
keeps me up at night."
Talk
to Larry in person about business continuity this
September at Midsize
Enterprise Summit.
About
SOS Metals, Inc.
SOS Metals is headquartered in West Chester, Ohio,
and maintains production facilities in Middletown,
Ohio and Lawrenceburg, Tennessee. SOS has three divisions:
SOS Service Center, specializing in flat-rolled steel
processing; SOS Leveling, specializing in precision
tension leveling; and JR Metals, specializing in secondary
and excess steel products. For more information, go
to www.sosmetalsinc.com.
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