[olug] Computer Room Fire Suppression

[Bill Brush]

On Wed, Jun 1, 2011 at 11:22 AM, Sam Tetherow <tetherow at shwisp.net> wrote:
> As a tax payer, I feel the pain.  The only way this would make sense is if
> it can be proven that the 'insurance' cost exceeds the replacement cost both
> in $$ and man hours.  Otherwise the public sector is doing a great
> disservice to it's constituents.
>


And this would be different from normal how?  (cynical answer)

Now to be perfectly fair, most of the I.T. guys, realize that a
comprehensive DR plan will make life easier in the event of a
disaster.  But consider the fact that most public entities don't
produce a product as such.  So if a public entity is closed due to a
disaster, how can you measure the loss of product?  The man hours paid
won't be markedly different than normal operations because all the
higher level I.T. workers are on salary.  If overtime is required for
hourly they'll be encouraged to take it as comp time instead of pay.
Compare the price of just buying replacements in the event of a
disaster versus buying redundant systems, maintaining them, and
keeping them upgraded and current for years just in case there might
be a disaster.  A private sector entity can't do that because the
downtime would kill their revenue stream.  Public entities do not have
their revenue tied to their productivity and no matter how
conscientious the individual worker is, they realize this fact.  If
you ask a public sector director which he would be more afraid of, a
disaster like LPS or a 35% dip in tax revenues, it will be the latter
every time (if they're honest).  The former is inconvenient, and
painful, the latter is terrifying.