Posted by Sarah Rixey on Tue, May 22, 2012
As part of our comprehensive disaster recovery planning services, Agility Recovery Solutions sends out a free weekly tip through email. If you would like to receive these tips, please sign up here.
Joplin Rebuilds
A year ago today, a deadly EF-5 tornado ravaged the city of Joplin, Missouri taking 161 lives and causing roughly 3 billion in damages. Faced with unprecedented adversity, the people of Joplin have shown remarkable resilience. According to the Joplin Chamber of Commerce, nearly 450 (or 80%) of affected businesses have already reopened.
And while the recovery efforts in Joplin have been nothing less than inspirational, it is important to recognize the city wouldn’t be where it is today if it weren't for proper planning and the help of gracious volunteers.
Looking for more information on how your business can better prepare for disaster? Check out some of our favorite emergency planning sites and get started today.
If you have additional questions or would like to talk with a recovery professional about your business continuity needs visit www.agilityrecovery.com or call 866-364-9696.
Posted by Sarah Rixey on Thu, May 17, 2012
As part of our comprehensive disaster recovery planning services, Agility Recovery Solutions sends out a free weekly tip through email. If you would like to receive these tips, please sign up here.
Know Your Route
Whether it's a building evacuation due to a fire or a city evacuation due to hurricane, know your routes. And most importantly, make sure your employees know your routes.
In the event of an emergency, stairwells, exits and/or roads may be blocked. It is important to have a plan and a backup plan in place so your employees know when to evacuate, where to go and what to take with them. For a complete guide to developing a comprehensive emergency evacuation plan, click here.
We asked our LinkedIn community, "What's the #1 thing you would take with you in an evacuation?" We have 21 responses and counting! Click here to join the conversation.
If you have additional questions or would like to talk with a recovery professional about your business continuity needs visit www.agilityrecovery.com or call 866-364-9696.
Posted by Sarah Rixey on Tue, May 08, 2012
As part of our comprehensive disaster recovery planning services, Agility Recovery Solutions sends out a free weekly tip through email. If you would like to receive these tips, please sign up here.
A Stormy Outlook.
With hurricane season a mere 24 days away, it is time to prepare for what is predicted to be an active season. Although the tropics are quiet now, meteorologists have predicted 11-12 named storms, 5-6 hurricanes and 2 major hurricanes this year. Click here for more information about the 2012 Hurricane Season Forecast.
With those predictions in mind, it is imperative to prepare now, not when the first storm threatens the coast. Agility has put together the following resources to help prepare your business, employees and community.
- Agility Hurricane Webinar: Guest Speaker Chris Hebert, lead hurricane meteorologist from ImpactWeather, will present: "Protecting Your Business This Hurricane Season." Tomorrow, May 9th at 2pm EST. Click here to register.
- Hurricane Preparedness Checklist: A comprehensive checklist detailing the various steps to take before, during and after a hurricane.
Click here to download.
If you have additional questions or would like to talk with a recovery professional about your business continuity needs visit www.agilityrecovery.com or call 866-364-9696.
Posted by Sarah Rixey on Wed, Apr 18, 2012
As part of our comprehensive disaster recovery planning services, Agility Recovery Solutions sends out a free weekly tip through email. If you would like to receive these tips, please sign up here.
One Fine Day
It’s about time. The U.S. severe weather map, which is usually a rainbow of colors indicating various imminent threats, is a rather blank slate today. What a relief.
And while some may say it is the calm before the storm, others may consider it a day for relaxation. Here at Agility, we view it as an opportunity to plan.
So what can you do to take advantage of the quiet days like today? Click here for a simple disaster recovery to-do list to help you effectively plan today for the disasters of tomorrow.
If you have additional questions or would like to talk with a recovery professional about your business continuity needs visit www.agilityrecovery.com or call 866-364-9696.
Posted by Sarah Rixey on Mon, Apr 16, 2012
The Road to Recovery
Location: Columbus, Ohio
Industry: Insurance
Membership Package: ReadySuite
Interruption: Tape Drives
When one of our members in Ohio called in, he wasn’t in a panic. There was no fear or urgency in his voice and there were no sounds of chaos in the background. He had simply called Agility to tell us that he was in need of tape drives. His tape library had failed and he needed a temporary replacement in order to continue backing up his data. Continuity Planner, Tom Combs, exchanged info with him and drew up the next steps of his recovery strategy in less than an hour.
After walking through available options, our member was relieved to know that rather than opting for an exact replacement, he could instead use two of the three tape drives he had access to through his ReadySuite Membership that would save him money. He immediately asked us to send him the equipment, stating “I didn’t want to rush into buying equipment – it was nice to be able to replace it right away.” Last year, he’d tested his recovery plan with Agility, which only added to his peace of mind and confidence in depending on us.
Our member saw that we were truly a partner in recovery and actively seeking out the most cost effective route with no other focus other than getting him back in business. This gave him the peace of mind to be out of the office that same week, knowing that he won’t have to think about tape drives because he has a partner he can trust to be there even when he’s not. He knows that Agility’s got his back.
Posted by Sarah Rixey on Fri, Apr 13, 2012
As part of our comprehensive disaster recovery planning services, Agility Recovery Solutions sends out a free weekly tip through email. If you would like to receive these tips, please sign up here.
Plan. Practice. Prepare.
Resilience – the ability to overcome obstacles, is part of the DNA of all well respected leaders; especially when it comes to disaster recovery. For some people, resilience and the ability to think calmly and react swiftly, comes naturally. For most of us, resilience comes with a great deal of planning, practice, training and experience.
Take the “Miracle on the Hudson” as an example. The pilots of that flight had a 100 page disaster recovery plan at their fingertips. But without intense practice in flight simulators, and his long history of flying glider planes, Captain Chesley Sullenberger’s emergency landing on the Hudson River could have just as easily ended in tragedy.
So what can you do to prepare your organization and become a more resilient leader? Click here for some advice and lessons learned from the heroic actions of Captain Sullenberger and his crew.
If you have additional questions or would like to talk with a recovery professional about your business continuity needs visit www.agilityrecovery.com or call 866-364-9696.
Posted by Sarah Rixey on Wed, Mar 14, 2012
The Road to Recovery
What: Planned Outages/Events
Who: 4 members including 2 banks, a retail giant, a school/university
When: All actively on alert
Agility’s Solution: When it comes to business continuity, Agility believes that any event that disrupts a business’ natural workflow can be considered a disaster – whether planned or unplanned.
This week, Agility is helping four members on Alert due to different planned company events. Read some of their stories below and learn about the flexibility of the Agility solution.
Bank Branch Remodeling
Where would your employees work if you were planning to remodel your existing office space? How would you service your customers? Agility is currently helping a member work through this dilemma. A bank branch has plans to undergo remodeling this spring, but as plans progress they were left with the daunting question – where would they work for the next 6 months? Would they need to relocate to another branch or have their employees work from home? How would they be able to service their customers?
That is when they turned to Agility for answers. They have called up our team of continuity planners and they have recommended a mobile recovery right in the bank’s parking lot. With enough time to plan for the relocation, the bank would be able to provide their own IT equipment, power, and connectivity and with Agility’s space they would have all they need to continue operations and effectively service their customers.
Employee Training
If your company recently hired a handful of new employees, where would you train them? How would you get internet access and computers for everyone? While it is a planned event, it is still a business disruption. Agility is currently helping a member work through these growing pains. A new distribution center for a retail corporation, has recently hired 60 new employees. The training is planned, but some of the logistics are still up in the air.
As an Agility Member, they thought there was a possibility we could help – and they were right. The company called Agility to understand how we could support their new hires. They would need 60 PC’s as well as connectivity to support the 60 new staff members during the training. Agility recommended a mobile recovery complete with satellite connectivity for internet access. The solution offered by Agility would give them the space and ability to train new hires effectively without impacting their daily operations.
These are both wonderful examples of the ease and flexibility of Agility’s ReadySuite solution. No disaster is too large or small – planned or unplanned – for Agility to consider it an interruption in your business operations.
Posted by Sarah Rixey on Wed, Mar 07, 2012
As part of our comprehensive disaster recovery planning services, Agility Recovery Solutions sends out a free weekly tip through email. If you would like to receive these tips, please sign up here.
#tornadoes
Tornadoes tore through Kentucky, Indiana and Tennessee this past weekend, killing at least 39 people and splintering communities, homes and businesses. Agility is currently responding to three disaster declarations in West Liberty, KY – a town that was virtually leveled Friday afternoon.
The storms took innocent lives and thrashed the conveniences of modern day life. Cellphone signals were hard to find, Internet was out and electricity indefinitely interrupted. At times like these, individuals are forced to use alternative methods to communicate with one another.
Social media outlets like facebook and twitter have proven to be a go-to source for news and updates following a disaster. These online communities provide businesses with the unique opportunity to share information rapidly with a large audience. To learn how to effectively integrate social media into your organization's disaster recovery plan, join Agility for a free webinar on March 14th.
Social Media and Disaster Recovery
Wednesday, March 14 - 2:00 p.m. EST
Click here to Register
If you have additional questions or would like to talk with a recovery professional about your business continuity needs visit www.agilityrecovery.com or call 866-364-9696.
Posted by Sarah Rixey on Tue, Mar 06, 2012
The Road to Recovery
What: An F3 tornado ripped through West Liberty, Kentucky with winds peaking at 140 mph.
When: Friday, March 2, 2012
Agility’s Recoveries in Action:
Agility received a call from the City of West Liberty declaring a disaster Saturday morning. The F3 tornado had damaged their City Hall which housed several Administration Offices as well as the Police Department and Dispatch.
In an effort to restore operations to West Liberty's City Hall and their 911 Dispatch Center, Agility immediately mobilized a recovery unit to house all displaced employees. By 7pm Sunday evening, the mobile unit was in place and power equipment was being installed. As of Monday morning the mobile unit was occupied and city leaders were able to focus on rebuilding the community.
Meanwhile, Agility was also in the process of recovering two different banks in Kentucky hit by the same tornado. During the tornado, one of the banks had its roof torn into pieces. Agility is providing a mobile recovery unit for employees to work out of while repairs are being made. The bank estimates they will be operating out of the mobile units for months until their branch is habitable once again. The other bank recovery involves a single modular unit, satellite, phones, office furniture and generator power. Both banks are up and running providing West Liberty customers with access to money despite the storm damage.
Lastly, if the conditions for recovery weren’t challenging enough, Sunday night nearly three inches of snow fell in West Liberty. This city was truly hit hard, and Agility is proud to help our members continue operations at their time of need. Our thoughts and prayers are with the community of West Liberty.
The American Red Cross Disaster Relief is collecting donations for tornado victims. To contribute, visit www.redcross.org, call (800) RED CROSS (733-2767) or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.
Posted by Sarah Rixey on Wed, Feb 22, 2012
The Road to Recovery
What: Server Failure at a Payroll Company
When: Called Agility on 2/16 – new server delivered on 2/17
Agility’s Solution: This is a classic example of how a minor outage can become a big issue. When the company’s 2 of 3 servers failed due to an HVAC malfunction, they tried to order a replacement from their vendor and were surprised to learn it would take 12 days to get a new one. Gulp. They called Agility and we were able to deliver a spare server before noon the following day.
Without Agility, they would have been dead in the water for the next two weeks. Because of Agility’s vendor relationships and fast turnaround time, the payroll company was able to continue operations without delay.
