Agenda Item
a. Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS) (Not to exceed $400,000)
Summary: Presented by: Dr. Kermit Belcher, Chief Information Officer, Division of Information and Instructional Technology
Request: It is requested that the Board of Education approve the second year of DraaS expenses pursuant to RFP 24-577 Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS) awarded to MGT (Formally Layer 3) as the lowest responsible, responsive bid and the purchase of Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS), in an amount not to exceed $400,000.
This is year 2 of a 5-year agreement.
Why: This recommendation provides the DeKalb County School District with a disaster recovery plan, services, and support.
Details: Disaster Recovery as a Service provides the DeKalb County School District with a disaster recovery plan and services for data storage and replication in case of the occurrence (in this region) of a natural or intended disaster. The district continues its commitment to enhancing disaster recovery solutions for the data center infrastructure, which is essential for the continuation of key business processes and information system services. By not having a solution in place, we put our assets and stakeholders at risk.
RFP 24-577 is a five-year award with a required annual renewal by the Board of Education. The solicitation was published in December 2023 and evaluated during January 2024.
"Disaster Recovery as a Service" (DRaaS) refers to a cloud-based solution where a third-party provider manages and delivers data protection and disaster recovery capabilities to businesses on demand, allowing them to quickly restore their systems and data in the event of a disruption without needing to maintain their own dedicated recovery infrastructure; essentially, it's a pay-as-you-go service for disaster recovery needs, accessed over the internet.
Key points about DRaaS:
Cloud-based:
DRaaS leverages cloud computing to store and replicate data, enabling rapid access and recovery in case of a disaster.
Managed service:
The provider takes care of managing the DR infrastructure, including data replication, backups, and recovery processes.
Scalable:
Businesses can scale their DR needs based on their requirements, paying only for the resources they use.
Benefits of DRaaS:
Reduced costs:
Eliminates the need to invest in and maintain a separate physical disaster recovery site.
Faster recovery time:
Enables near-instantaneous recovery of applications and data in the event of an outage.
Improved agility:
It allows businesses to quickly adapt their disaster recovery strategy to changing needs.
How DRaaS works:
Data replication:
Regularly replicates critical data from the primary site to the cloud-based DR environment.
Recovery testing:
Provides the ability to regularly test disaster recovery plans to ensure effectiveness.
Failover process:
In case of a disaster, the DR environment takes over seamlessly, allowing operations to continue with minimal disruption.
Financial impact: $400,000
100.1000.530000.00011.7600.9990.0308.070.0000
Contact: Dr. Kermit Belcher, Chief Information Officer, Division of Information and Instructional Technology
Effective: March 2025
Status: Awaiting Legal Approval
Chronology of Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS)
Disaster Recovery as a Service, provided by MGT, is a comprehensive disaster
recovery service specifically designed to back up critical server data and configurations
that are recoverable at a moment’s notice in the case of a disaster. It includes advanced
capabilities of recovering partial or all critical server infrastructure.
Benefits of DRaaS:
• Enhanced infrastructure resiliency.
• Copies of data and servers are held out of state to ensure recovery capabilities in
a regional disaster.
• Cost-Effective: The MGT solution offers a comprehensive solution that can
reduce the need for multiple separate tools.
Year BOE Approval Amount Spent Vendor
FY 2021 $700,000 $218,147.04 Lumen
FY 2022 $700,000 $658,138.91 Lumen
FY 2023 $700,000 $491,254.50 Lumen
FY 2024 $500,000 $297,467.73 Lumen
FY 2024 $400,000 $113,463.80 MGT
FY 2025 $400,000
The past three-year average spend with each vendor is as follows:
Vendor Spend Amount
Lumen $482,287.00
MGT $113,463.80
The movement of services to MGT should represent a significant yearly savings. We are
able to continue the progress and lower our cost from 482,287 to under 400,000 moving
from Lumen.
The scope for MGT is to encompass a DRaaS environment that includes:
1. DCSD access, as needed, to the DRaaS site (This would be used for facility
inspection and audit requirements).
2. Cloud data storage and replication.
3. DCSD’s ability to remotely configure and monitor assigned environments.
4. The required tools and support to configure and monitor the environment.
5. Pricing models and details showing basic connectivity charges, tools, storage,
processing, etc.
6. All backed-up data is encrypted in transit and at rest.
7. Perform up to four failover tests per year.
8. Must have a dedicated team to work with DCSD for support activities (or
dedicated support).
9. Develop DR declaration run books for daily operations, emergencies, and
failover testing.
"Disaster Recovery as a Service" (DRaaS) refers to a cloud-based solution where a
third-party provider manages and delivers data protection and disaster recovery
capabilities to businesses on demand, allowing them to quickly restore their systems
and data in the event of a disruption without needing to maintain their own dedicated
recovery infrastructure; essentially, it's a pay-as-you-go service for disaster recovery
needs, accessed over the internet.
Key points about DRaaS:
Cloud-based:
DRaaS leverages cloud computing to store and replicate data, enabling rapid
access and recovery in case of a disaster.
Managed service:
The provider takes care of managing the DR infrastructure, including data
replication, backups, and recovery processes.
Scalable:
Businesses can scale their DR needs based on their requirements, paying only
for the resources they use.
Benefits of DRaaS:
Reduced costs:
Eliminates the need to invest in and maintain a separate physical disaster
recovery site.
Faster recovery time:
Enables near-instantaneous recovery of applications and data in the event of an
outage.
Improved agility:
Allows businesses to quickly adapt their disaster recovery strategy to changing
needs.
How DRaaS works:
Data replication:
Regularly replicates critical data from the primary site to the cloud-based DR
environment.
Recovery testing:
Provides the ability to regularly test disaster recovery plans to ensure
effectiveness.
Failover process:
In case of a disaster, the DR environment takes over seamlessly, allowing
operations to continue with minimal disruption.