Hurricane Sandy has caused many small tech companies to scramble for contingency plans and take the necessary steps to protect their expensive data centers. In fact, some data center workers are sleeping onsite or at nearby hotel to be on-call for their company in case things get out of hand due to the storm, according to an article for Computerworld.
While having property insurance is always a smart idea for tech businesses of any size, thinking about virtual servers is another thing companies should consider when being located in an area where natural disasters can come through and wreak havoc on an enterprise.
The article chronicled how two companies in the heart of the storm prepared for the storm in their own ways to make sure the business remained running when other firms were scrambling to think what to do next.
Hosting.com, located in Newark, Delaware
With it data center located directly where the storm eventually struck, members of the company made a weekend trip to Wal-Mart in order to stock up on supplies in case employees had to spend the night or were trapped on location. The website said the company picked up some cots and enough food to support its workforce, as well as a ping pong table, a pool table and an Xbox games to make sure employees didn't go stir crazy.
Hosting.com Newark facility’s director of service operations, Jonathan Arena, projected confidence that the firm was well prepared for any difficulties or disruptions brought on by the hurricane. He believed that the business and staff were protected by their preparations and were ready to withstand the storm.
The company was also prepared for a power outage after stocking up on fuel that can maintain power for the generators up to 50 hours before needing to be refilled, Arena continued. With that type of plan in place, any small tech company can reduce risks of a potentially harmful natural disaster.
SunGard Availability Services in Carlstadt, New Jersey
Similar to Hosting.com, SunGard also planned ahead for food, fuel and sleeping arrangements because the company is expected to be fully functioning throughout the storm, due to nature of the business.
Walter Dearing, vice president of recovery services, customer resource and support for SunGard, told Computerworld the company understands the business has to remain in operation, so they try to take the proper precautions.