ABOUT SANITY

HOME

THE SANE CHOICE

OUR MISSION/CULTURE

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

CAREERS

BEST PRACTICES & INDUSTRY NEWS

CONTACT US

OTHER STORIES

COMPOS MENTIS

SANITY SPOTLIGHT

ARCHITECTING YOUR FUTURE SUCCESS

FINANCING WITH EASE

OTHER STORIES

COMPOS MENTIS

SANITY SPOTLIGHT

ARCHITECTING YOUR FUTURE SUCCESS

FINANCING WITH EASE

OTHER STORIES

COMPOS MENTIS

SANITY SPOTLIGHT

ARCHITECTING YOUR FUTURE SUCCESS

FINANCING WITH EASE

OTHER STORIES

COMPOS MENTIS

SANITY SPOTLIGHT

ARCHITECTING YOUR FUTURE SUCCESS

FINANCING WITH EASE

Data News

First Quarter 2008

Compos Mentis
Sanity Speaks

On behalf of all of our employees I would like to thank you for making 2007 a year worth remembering. We accomplished a lot and look forward to continuing to build our relationship with you.

Thanks to you and your continued loyalty, we will be moving to a new and much larger space, one floor below our current offices. Our new office will double the size of the Sanitarium, which means you can test and evaluate even more solutions in our no risk environment.

In addition to expanding our presence in Colorado, we have also opened an office in Phoenix, Arizona. As we continue to grow, we are committed to cultivating lasting relationships and providing the best storage solutions both locally and throughout the country.

One of our objectives for 2007 was to grow the value we provide to our clients while remaining focused on our mission—to be the best storage solutions provider possible. Because of your input we have added new and exciting solutions from Hitachi Data Systems, Riverbed, Crossroads, agámi, and Tek-Tools. These manufacturers allow us to better serve each of your unique needs. I encourage you to learn what these products can do for you and be sure to let us know if there are other storage solutions you would like us to consider.

In an effort to continue to add value to our clients, we have updated our website with a new look and even more information, as well as educational podcasts. Additionally, we will continue to add and update information that you are sure to find helpful when researching solutions. We will also hold an Open House on the third Wednesday of each month to educate, teach, and have a good time with all those interested. Continue visiting our website to learn more about upcoming topics and, as always, we want to hear from you about any topics you would like discussed.

I am only a phone call away and always available to address your needs or concerns—this is my commitment to you. Thank you again for letting Sanity Solutions serve you.

Sincerely,

Jason T. Cherveny
President & Chief Executive Officer
720-570-1668 x 601

Webster lives in the Platte Park area with his 2-year old yellow Labrador, Lambeau. An avid skier, hiker, and cyclist, his favorite Colorado spots are Vail in the winter and Steamboat in the summer. Sanity Spotlight Eric Webster A Wisconsin native and graduate of the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire, Eric Webster joined the Sanity Solutions team in 2004. His former college buddy, Jason Cherveny—President and CEO of Sanity Solutions—convinced Webster to leave Minneapolis, where he was working for a reseller, and join Sanity in Denver. I made the transition to Sanity Solutions for two reasons—I knew and trusted Jason's business acumen and ethics, but the real attraction Sanity posed was in becoming part of a company that had client-driven objectives. Sanity handles a finite number of products, allowing us to find the right solution for our clients. Other companies simply “make a sale”. We figure out our clients' objectives and find a good fit within the technology. If we can't find a good fit, we don't try to force one. Jason taught me that—if it's not the right solution, we don't push a product on the client for the sake of making a sale. What matters is what's best for the client. I think the best part of working at Sanity is being able to work with the client through the entire process. From beginning to end, Sanity is involved in every aspect of the client experience. Our role is to identify the client's problem, help find the right solution, and even be on-site for a successful implementation. We want to be there through every step of the process—making sure that we deliver on our promises and that we can troubleshoot along the way. This fits in well with my personal views on business. I believe in a pro-active customer approach. I have a 30, 60, and 90-day follow-up plan for each implementation to ensure the right solution is in place. Sanity isn't in the business of dropping off a box and saying 'good luck'. Your success is our success. "Eric came to Sanity with incredible customer service experience. Our clients benefit from that and his industry knowledge on a daily basis." –Jason Cherveny, President and CEO of Sanity Solutions

Architecting Your Future Success

Best Practices by David Stalcup
The advent of the New Year brings fresh objectives to IT Directors everywhere. Amidst the plans for hardware refresh, application rollouts and infrastructure improvements lurk the onerous demands of developing and implementing a Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery plan. BC/DR planning has become a key objective to businesses. Unfortunately, the task of developing a cohesive, detailed and functioning plan can be overwhelming. IT departments will spend countless hours evaluating technologies and assessing methods to meet objectives that change while businesses evolve. Herein lies the most acute flaw in the BC/DR process; dysfunction between the business and the technology. Developing a successful BC/DR plan begins with cohesion between the business needs and the technology; without a true understanding of absolute business criteria the technology solution may not appropriately address the needs of any organization's ability to survive a catastrophe.

Developing Your Strategy
The first step in developing a BC/DR strategy is to coordinate a Business Impact Analysis or BIA. The purpose of the BIA is to research and discuss the critical needs of the business in the event that the main data facility is lost to some form of disaster. The fundamental question is, "What systems must be available so my company can still function?" This is the goal of the BIA. The ancillary benefit of the BIA is that it allows the IT department to establish appropriate expectations for the business and what the infrastructure will look like and how it will function while in the midst of a disaster scenario. The scope of the BIA is wide and it must encompass personnel throughout your organization. It is essential to interview the end users, including low-level and mid-level management, to collect their insight into the operation of your daily business activities. Once these activities are captured then it is the responsibility of upper management and IT to evaluate and prioritize the systems that support these functions. Remember, your BIA will be the basis of how you respond to an actual disaster. The Disaster Recovery will relate to what physical systems will need to be recovered or redundant while the Business Continuity aspect will address recovering the core components of your business applications. This documentation of key systems and of your environment will be the beginning of a change in behavior. This method of meticulous information gathering and documentation should be integrated into every phase of your business. Such discipline allows you to build a repeatable process that addresses system recoverability and, even more importantly, it builds workforce agility. The more diversity that you can build into your workforce, the greater your chances of recovering quickly from a disaster scenario.

Challenges of a Successful Strategy
The challenge of constructing a successful BC/DR plan is a demanding endeavor. Personnel responsible for the development of this plan will be faced with cost restraints and potentially a lack of support from within their organization; funding plays a critical role in any plan development. For most organizations it is fiscally impractical to produce a duplicate infrastructure. The diligent work done by developing the BIA will give you a blueprint of which systems will prove to be essential during a disaster and how quickly the business will need these systems operational. This is known as Recovery Time Objective (RTO). The RTO and Recovery Point Objective (RPO), or amount of acceptable data loss, will help in driving the basis for the technology platforms. Once these critical systems are identified and the RTO/RPO established, the IT department can begin assessing the technology available to execute the DR plan. The IT market is full of persuasive sales tactics, so be careful. Resellers can play a key role in the evaluation process, however, they can range widely in focus and expertise. Discuss with your peers the experiences they have had with resellers. You should look for a reseller who addresses your needs in terms of solutions rather than specific products. Specific products will be chosen once there is an intimate knowledge of your environment and goals. The reseller who wants to be your trusted advisor can provide invaluable information regarding market trends, successful implementations and stewardship of your fiscal limitations.

Continuing Your Success
The BC/DR challenge is an ongoing process. It requires constant revision and modification. Each time hardware or a new application is rolled out you must evaluate where this fits into your BC/DR plan. Your most important asset—your employees—must maintain a level of training and awareness that allows them to fulfill several roles in the event of a disaster. Your trusted advisor, the reseller, can help you wade through the quagmire of available solutions. The reseller's insight into the proper technology will ensure you have integrated products that scale with your demands and that meet your RTO and RPO, while addressing the fiscal constraints of your budget.

For additional information regarding DR scenarios and planning please visit the follow links:

Assessing 9-11 click here

BC/DR in Healthcare click here

Top Ten List for BC/DR click here

Financing With Ease

New Partnership Means More Client Benefits

Solutions are comprehensive. When we work with our partners to find the best solution for your unique storage needs, we consider everything—including financing options so you can lease your business equipment. This is why we are proud to announce that we have partnered with US Bank to assist you with your financing needs.

Many businesses don't realize they can lease their business equipment through a local bank, and we partnered with US Bank because of their specialized division designed to help you to:

• Get 100% financing, which preserves your working capital


• Take care of an application in as little as 5 minutes over the phone


• Get you credit decisions in hours not days


• Work with a bank who is often more competitive than big name computer vendors


• Take advantage of a unique program that offers you up to an additional 15% funding for soft costs and 25% more for general working capital, and


• Structure a lease to help you qualify for Section 179 tax treatment (call your tax advisor for details).

If you have any questions regarding financing, please contact your Sanity Representative or Peggy Hogg (720-570-1668 x 605).