M&O Stamp of Approval

Validating Management & Operations (M&O)

Covering all your A data center operating environment is never static. Equipment and systems, practices
and procedures, capacity, personnel, weather—the variables are in constant flux. How
operational bases do you balance these dynamic elements in the face of budget, capacity, and
performance mandates?
• The M&O Stamp of
In a competitive marketplace, you need to be sure that your business-critical data
Approval validates the
effective operations and center—or global portfolio of centers—is being operated reliably and efficiently to
risk management support 24 x 7 uptime performance and minimize the risk of errors and failures that
practices of your could derail your entire digital business platform.
organization, from top to
bottom.

• M&O makes a holistic

Whatever engineering design, system
technologies, and infrastructure are in
Reducing Human Error
assessment of staffing
and organization practices, place at a facility, ultimately, the most Human error is responsible for a majority
maintenance and significant contribution to unplanned of all data center incidents. In fact, bad
operations activities, and downtime and errors is operations. operational practices are 500x more
management and likely to negatively impact a data center
planning. The M&O Stamp of Approval validates
the critical facilities management and than any other cause of errors, outages
• M&O helps reduce the operations practices of an existing data and downtime.
number and severity of center. It is a stand-alone assessment of But laying the blame with front-line
incidents, which can have a non-Tier Certified facility, operators ignores the influence of
a meaningful impact on encompassing both day-to-day
both CapEx and OpEx upstream decisions, resource allocation,
operating activities and upstream and organizational culture. That’s why
costs, including your cost planning and decisions-making.
of insurance. the M&O Assessment takes a holistic
view that covers multiple criteria in five
• M&O recognizes Operational Excellence categories:
organizational excellence
and shows stakeholders Earning this credential demonstrates • Staffing and organization
your operations, risk your organization’s leadership and
management, and commitment to excellence. The M&O • Maintenance
efficiency are top notch. Stamp of Approval also protects your
significant capital investment in • Training
infrastructure, aligns your teams on a
STITUTE APP • Planning, coordination, and
E IN RO
®
consistent set of standards, and
TIM V
provides independent, third-party management
UP

ED

validation that your site meets the key

M&O
• Operating conditions
criteria proven to reduce the risk of
downtime. It demonstrates to your
Company
stakeholders and the market that your
Site organization has achieved the most
Exp. 1 April 2015 effective operating and risk management
practices.

www.uptimeinstitute.com
Protecting your data center assets
Your data center is more important than ever before in today’s
digital-centric world—often the single largest capital asset
owned by most corporations. An outage at a mission critical
facility can result in hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses.
Negative impacts can include:
• Equipment damage
• Worker injuries
• Lost revenues
• Penalties for failure to maintain contractual Service
Level Agreements.
M&O helps reduce the number and severity of incidents, which
can have a meaningful impact on both CapEx and OpEx costs,
including the cost to insure the structures.
Because of this, insurance companies now recognize that
Uptime Institute’s Tier Standards and Certifications, including
the M&O Stamp of Approval may qualify for more competitive
insurance policy terms and pricing.
Consistency and repeatability
The M&O Assessment process includes a thorough review of
policy documents and procedures, interviews with personnel,
and an on-site visit from an Uptime Institute expert. M&O
provides a holistic view of organizational capabilities, ensuring
you can capitalize on opportunities for improvement. This
comprehensive approach is what lends the M&O credential
particular value to organization, customers, and investors.
To ensure unflagging performance, the M&O Stamp of Approval
comes up for renewal every two years. Operations excellence is
about maintaining discipline and consistency over time and
adapting to changes in the environment. With M&O your
operations won’t lose their edge.
Visit www.uptimeinstitute.com for more information.
“Getting Uptime Institute’s M&O Stamp
allowed me to understand and dramatically
improve my operational efficiency”.
– John Sheputis, President, Infomart Data Centers™
"Data outages or interruptions can be
catastrophic, and we are continuously
looking at ways to help our customers
reduce their risk exposures. Even simple
incidents can cost millions in lost revenues
and significantly impact customer
satisfaction. Uptime Institute helps CNA's
customers lower that risk through its Tier
Certification of Operational Sustainability
and M&O Stamp of Approval programs."
– Stephen Douglas, Risk Control Consulting Director,
CNA
More than 140 data centers have been awarded the M&O
Stamp of Approval—including 57 CenturyLink (now Cyxtera)
sites and multiple Morgan Stanley and Infomart data facilities—
recognizing their excellence in managing and operating
facilities. Like them, you can mitigate the human factors risk
that account for the majority of downtime incidents, while also
achieving your business goals for lower resource use, greater
efficiency and operational sustainability.
Uptime Institute is a division of The 451 Group, a leading technology industry
analyst and data company. Uptime Institute has office locations in the U.S., Mexico,
Costa Rica, Brazil, U.K., Spain, U.A.E., Russia, Taiwan, Singapore, and Malaysia.
© 2018 Uptime Institute, LLC. All rights reserved. 180731-DS-01 A