Managing the facilities of today’s high-end and high-availability data centers is an extremely demanding and complex task which is often underestimated. There is often very little appreciation and understanding of the complexities of managing today's mission-critical data centers where downtime is not an option, especially since many of the data centers are operating at, or near, their design limits. Operations management at the facilities layer makes all the difference. Even a data center designed to the highest redundancy level as per the ANSI/TIA-942 standard could still experience many unscheduled downtime events due to poor planning, operations, maintenance and management processes.

The CDFOM^® (Certified Data Center Facilities Operations Manager) course is a three-day course which will enable data center managers to gain in-depth knowledge of managing data center operations from planning to monitoring and reporting. This course breaks down the complexity of managing a mission-critical high-availability data center facility into manageable and systematic processes. Not only are the topics covered based on international standards, the course includes best-practises by seasoned data center professionals with many years’ experience managing global data center facilities. The CDFOM^® is an intensive course packed with a lot of information which brings tremendous value to the participants, enabling them to improve the operations of their data center. The course is fully aligned with the DCOS^® (Data Center Operations Standard).

The primary audience for this course is someone who works, or has ambition to work, in a leadership role in data center operations such as a data center facilities manager, data center operations manager, who has the responsibility to achieve and improve the high-availability and manageability of the data center operations. 

It is advisable for the participants to have some experience in data center operations although it is not required. It is highly recommended to attend the DCFC^®/CDCP^® course before attending the CDFOM^® course.

After completion of the course the participant will be able to:

• Perform the needs analysis translating business requirements to data center services
• Set-up and manage the data center operations team
• Implement and monitor safety- and security practices
• Identify a suitable maintenance program for the data center facility and its equipment
• Select the appropriate policies and procedures required for data center operations
• Monitor the data center availability, capacity and capability
• Manage and implement basic data center projects
• Set-up and implement an environmental sustainability program
• Select an appropriate back-up site to support organizational resilience
• Identify and respond to risk in the data center
• Manage and support the document life cycle
• Create a basic budget proposal
• Select and manage vendors and measure their performance
• Manage data center assets

Service Level Management

• Service Level Management 
• Needs analysis 
• Capability assessment 
• Service portfolio 
• Service catalogue 
• Service Level Agreements (SLAs) 
• Availability measurement 
• Data points in SLA
• Service reporting 
• Complaint procedure
• Customer satisfaction measurement 
• Service Improvement Process (SIP)
• SLA content

The Data Center Organization

• Operational issues
• Organization chart
• Roles and responsibilities
• Skills matrix
• Contingency / backup roles
• Shift management
• Performance management 
• Career development 
• Training and assessment
• Job rotation 
• Succession planning 
• Disciplinary program

Managing Safety & Statutory Requirements

• Safety policies and regulations 
• Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S)
• Safety awareness training
• Permit to Work (PTW)
• Lock-out / Tag-out
• Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) 
• Testing and tagging of equipment 
• Emergency preparedness and response
• Reporting of safety issues
• Reviews / internal audit / external audit

Managing Physical Security

• Security policies and procedures
• Security standards and guidelines
• Security staff
• Security awareness
• Security incident management 
• Disciplinary program
• Reviews, internal and external audits

Facilities Management

• Maintenance policies and procedures
• Various maintenance programs
• Outsourcing of maintenance activities 
• Maintenance contract options 
• Warranty 
• Maintenance schedule 
• Service situations
• Spart part management 
• Contamination control

Data Center Operations

• Policies and procedures for data center operations
• Service operations and the daily data center operations

Monitoring / Reporting / Control

• Monitoring requirements
• Escalation procedures
• Reporting
• Trend analysis
• Reviews

 Project Management

• Project management
• Project organization
• Project manager
• Project phases

Environment Sustainability

• The importance of sustainability
• Sustainability policies 
• Environmental management 
• Power efficiency indicators ‐
• Waste management ‐
• Water management
• ICT utilisation management 
• Environmental performance measurements
• Renewable energy factor (REF)

Organizational Resilience

• Business continuity 
• Data center facility options 
• Business Impact Analysis  
• Type of facility  
• Human resources 
• Facility, equipment and consumables

Governance, Risk and Compliance

• Management commitment 
• Coordination, collaboration and integration 
• Compliance 
• Risk management 
• Document management 
• Financial management 
• Vendor management 
• Asset management

The CDFOM^® course is lectured by an EPI Certified Instructor using a combination of lectures and question-and-answer sessions to discuss participants’ specific needs and issues experienced in their own environment.  Participants are able to tap into the trainer’s extensive experience to enable them to solve practical problems in their current environment, thus adding tremendous value.

CDFOM^® course available in the following delivery formats:

• ILT – Instructor Led Training (Schedule)
• VILT – Virtual ILT (Schedule)
• TOD – Training On Demand (More)

The classes are available on public schedule as well as private group training.

Exam: Certified Data Center Facilities Operations Manager (CDFOM^®)

Certification exams are administered at the end of the course. The exam is a 90-minute closed book exam, with 60 multiple-choice questions. The candidate requires a minimum of 42 correct answers to pass the exam. Online exam results are known immediately and paper-based exam results will be known within one week. 

Candidates who successfully pass the exam will receive the official ‘Certified Data Center Facilities Operations Manager’ certificate. The certification is valid for three years after which the student needs to re-certify. Please see the EPI Recertification Program for available options.

CDFOM^® is globally accredited by EXIN, a fully independent exam and certification institute. 

For more info, click for brochure:
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