Hero group plans common DR center

In light of the recent events like 9/11 or the New York grid failure in August 2003, the importance of disaster recovery has come to the
forefront. Hero Group of companies is planning to have a common Disaster
Recovery (DR) center to cater to different companies under its umbrella.

According to the company, the center is likely to be based
close of its Gurgaon facility and would be operational within the next six
months. "We are going to create a DR site at the group level, where we can
handle data recovery for all the Hero group of companies including–Hero Honda
and Hero Cycles. We are not in a position to comment about the investment plans
as of now but the center would be operational within the next six months,"
informed, SR Balasubramanian VP (Information Systems), Hero Honda Motors Ltd.

At present, the company has its centralized data center
located in Gurgaon with its Dharuhera plant and headquarters having a few local
servers. "We have a network of structured LAN at three locations and WAN on
hybrid links. Higher end monitoring of all the equipment is being done in
house," Balasubramanian added.

According to Balasubramanian, businesses should try and make
DR planning a high priority. "A lot of businesses talk about DR, but don’t
make planning for one a high priority. Fire, theft, sabotage, intrusion, power
outage or explosion – all can cause major disruptions in a business and can
affect the security and integrity of data and physical assets of an
organization. In today’s environment, you simply cannot afford to lose on the
vital data and have to be prepared to face difficult circumstances," he
explained.

To further streamline its processes, the company is also
planning to extend its existing Economic Resource Planning (ERP) solution for
its partners all over the country. "We have this solution from SAP being
implemented within the organization and we are in the process of extending this
to link our business partners using the supply chain module," he added.

With a projected turnover of Rs 6,000 crore for the year
2003-04, the company has seen a growth of more than 250 percent in sales volumes
between the year 1998-99 and 2002-03. "Over the last few years, we have
almost doubled the manpower for the company and we are expecting to sell two
million motorcycles by 2003-04. So with initiatives such as these in place, we
will be in a better position to increase our business profitability for the near
future," he informed.

Zia Askari

New Delhi (CyberMedia News Service)