Those with the most power win
December 3, 2007 – 9:54 amSo we’ve had some pretty exciting weather here in Oregon the past couple of days. 125 MPH gusts on the beach, 50 in the valley for Portland and Salem. I was getting ready for work this morning and caught the "live on the scene" reporting from Lincoln City, OR, a small coastal town best known for the casino and outlet malls. The entire town is without power. They can’t even get a radio to transmit the emergency broadcast signal. However, it appears that Chinook Winds, the casino, has the necessary redundant systems and has not been affected by the city wide power outage. The whole town is black and they can’t even broadcast an emergency signal, but the neon lights of the casino are up and running.
The whole situation made me chuckle this morning. What happens when your city goes down and your members make a run on your branches? Who will be able to serve their members? In my mind it is easy to see that FI’s should be more important than a casino during large scale power outage. But not many CU’s could afford the massive backup systems that Chinook Winds can employ. I always had the Tim Allen, "more power" attitude and loved the idea of having a big data center with lots of servers. But the shear cost of running that and having fully N+1 redundant systems is massively expensive.
So what’s a CU to do? Outsource DR to a third-party? That only gets you so far. Chances are you can’t switch your system over to a remote location in a timely manner. Partner with other local CU’s to open one data center and be able to afford all of the necessary backup systems?
10 Responses to “Those with the most power win”
In the spirit of the credit union philosophy, I think partnering with others to house a shared data center would be a great idea. However, that still leaves a CU to be dependent upon someone else for their data survival. On the flip side, who better to depend on then “one of your own” instead of a 3rd party vendor? And that may be how it has to be.
By Mike Templeton on Dec 3, 2007
You’d be surprised at what some credit unions have done. NCUA requires FCUs to take appropriate steps to ensure that their business operations remain functioning, even during nasty natural disasters. Generators, with a few days worth of diesel, seem to be fairly common.
By The Compliance Guy on Dec 3, 2007
We’ve had lots of power problems over that past 14 months. Our city had been making some changes that affected us. It’s good because it really ofrced us to finally get around to planning for a disaster.
We’ve priced a natural gas powered generator that which really wasn’t very costly for our main office. It’s not much of an ongoing expense either. CU’s should definitely consider something like that. Of course it doesn’t help any if the building itself is destroyed or if you don’t have access to natural gas.
Thanks to some careful planning, I’m happy to say that in the event of a total branch destruction we can be up and running at an alternate location within 1-2 days. I just hope we never have to do it.
By Dan Veasey on Dec 3, 2007
@Dan: 1-2 days for a complete branch relocation! Wow! That seems pretty extraordinary to me. Props to you and your CU for being prepared.
By Mike Templeton on Dec 3, 2007
Robbie, I like your suggestion about sharing a data center. I think the more that credit unions can cooperate and work together the more independent and unique they can stay.
Failing that, install slot machines so you can afford to go it alone! Anything to avoid more mergers!
By Tim McAlpine on Dec 3, 2007
Now there’s a way to differentiate CUs from banks:
“We have better rates and smaller fees…plus we have slot machines!”
By Mike Templeton on Dec 3, 2007
The natural gas backup generators seem to be gaining in popularity. I know one CU in the NW who has one for the admin center and a separate one for the data center, enabling them to run indefinitely in a power outage. Unless the natural gas line somehow manages to get cut of course! I wonder what it would take to get local CU’s talking with each other to get data centers built in major metropolitan areas. Maybe some type of national CUSO with DC’s in major metropolitan areas by their clients? Sounds like Ongoing Operations to me…
By Robbie Wright on Dec 3, 2007
I loved this post and the thinking that led up to it. I’m going to ask Mike Atkins of Open Technology Solutions–a joint technology CUSO for six big CUs–if disaster recovery prowess is part of the deal. I didn’t ask that question when I wrote “Tech CUSO Provides Economies of Scale,” which details the CUSO’s structure and operations. CUES members can get here, and I’ll e-mail a copy to any interested blogger:
http://www.cues.org/pls/cuesp/!cues1.main?complex_id_in=3069666.3069668.3070000.11506950.page
By Lisa Hochgraf on Dec 4, 2007
Great post and comments. While I agree that collocated data centers are a great use CU to CU cooperation, I’ve got to say I’m a little disappointed that the solutions here are not much different than the ones that keep the casino open. Like the casino, the focus is “How do I keep my operation up and running?”
First, let me give validity to that question. It is the number #1 question, especially given the regulation and compliance issues.
However, I believe there is a #2 question, that if considered is at the heart of what distinguishes a credit union from a casino: “How can my up and running operation, benefit the community in this time of need?”
Just a little something extra to consider. I’d love to hear of ideas, or even examples of credit unions helping the communities they serve as a benefit of their “always on” necessity.
By CU Skeptic on Dec 10, 2007
@CU Skeptic - I was thinking the same thing. It was pretty silly to see a casino up and running yet the city couldn’t send out an emergency message. That’s the perfect chance for a credit union, or a casino, to step up and help out. I remember hearing a story a while back about restaurant called Camp 18 on the way out to the Oregon beach. Some nasty car accident or bad weather or something had completely shut down the highway and stranded motorists every where. Camp 18 stayed open all night, handed out blankets, and cooked food for everyone stranded. I’m not saying CU’s should cook, but take advantage of what you have.
By Robbie Wright on Dec 10, 2007