CDFOM study guide
CDFOM · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The Certified Data Centre Facilities Operations Manager (CDFOM) is a professional credential aimed at people who run the operational side of a data centre rather than its design. It suits facilities managers, operations managers, shift leaders and senior engineers who are accountable for day-to-day service delivery, maintenance regimes, security, staffing and continuity. The CDFOM study guide has 6 sections and about 2,352 words.
01Data Centre Operations Management: Service Levels, KPIs and Process Control
This domain tests how you run the data centre day to day: the processes that turn an SLA into repeatable work, the KPIs that prove service, and the governance of incidents, changes and handovers. The exam expects you to distinguish contractual service levels from internal targets and to calculate performance from agreed definitions.
416 words, about 2 min02Facilities Management and Maintenance: Planned, Corrective and Contracted Work
This domain tests the asset lifecycle: how planned and corrective maintenance are scheduled, executed, recorded and assured, and how maintenance contracts are scoped so they support availability rather than merely transfer risk. Expect questions on CMMS data, PM compliance, MTBF and MTTR, critical spares and vendor management.
395 words, about 2 min03Safety, Security and Environmental Management: Layered Controls and Operating Envelopes
This domain tests the controls that protect people, assets and the operating environment. It covers physical security layers, health and safety risk control, fire detection and suppression, and the temperature and humidity envelope that keeps IT equipment reliable.
419 words, about 2 min04Staffing, Training and Competence Management: Coverage, Authorization and Evidence
This domain tests organisation design and the evidence that people are competent for the tasks they perform. It covers roles, 24×7 shift coverage, authorization, training records and handover.
381 words, about 2 min05Governance, Compliance and Risk Management: Standards, Audits and Evidence
This domain tests how the operation proves it is controlled: standards, audits, documentation, risk registers and change governance. The exam expects you to link a requirement to evidence, and to distinguish compliance with a standard from legal compliance.
361 words, about 2 min06Capacity, Availability and Continuity Management: Redundancy, RTO and RPO
This domain tests forward planning and resilience: power, cooling, space and network capacity; availability design; and emergency and continuity response. The exam expects calculations that respect redundancy, not just nameplate capacity.
380 words, about 2 min