Hosted and platform services are located primarily in GlobeOp's production data centre in Yorktown Heights, NY. A cornerstone of GlobeOp's active-active IT infrastructure, the facility is specifically designed to meet the demanding real-time operational, network, scale and resiliency needs of global financial services clients.

"Robust business continuity plans and disaster recovery capabilities rank among the priorities of fund investors conducting operational risk due diligence," said Vernon Barback, GlobeOp president and chief operating officer. "At the same time, in this uncertain market hedge funds and other financial organisations are targeting operational and IT costs as strategic priorities. Outsourcing to an experienced technology services provider like GlobeOp is a cost-effective, scalable alternative to investing in advanced data centers and infrastructure security. In purchasing and developing our Yorktown Heights facility, we identified the potential of combining its location and our expertise as a solution for technology-intensive companies in the Westchester, Fairfield and Manhattan areas."

Managed Services clients access a specialised and controlled environment within GlobeOp's Yorktown Heights data centre, located approximately 40 miles from Manhattan. Its cooling and power systems are designed to optimise scalability and energy efficiency. Internet connectivity is available in dedicated or tiered configurations; technical support specialists monitor and report internet connectivity on a 24/7 basis. Wide area network (WAN) access is provided by multiple telecom vendors; firewalls and servers are frequently tested.

Many in-house information technology departments today require additional space, power, bandwidth and system resilience, and face new business continuity and disaster recovery challenges, according to Bob Schwartz, GlobeOp chief technology officer.

"Data growth remains exponential, driven by new websites, applications and client services that require significant amounts of data storage," Schwartz said. "IT infrastructure investments will increase for financial institutions in particular, due to high volume transaction processing, zero data loss risk tolerance, and growing demands for data transparency and reporting. Traditional data and hardware back-up systems are not designed to deliver the operating and facility capabilities of full business continuity management and disaster recovery. We've created a flexible response to client needs that range from data backup and recovery to a "mirror location" operating near existing offices but served by distinct or redundant power and telecommunications sources."