Hurricane Milton and Helene hit a little over a year ago and the land is still reeling from its effects. Some people still haven't recovered from its path of destruction. Hitting areas unprepared for a hurricane of that degree. This week in class, we learned about Contingency Planning and hurricane response was the first thing to come to my head. When a disaster like a hurricane comes and destroys all infrastructure in the area, how does a tech company recover? Technology relies on infrastructure like the Internet, Cloud systems, and other interconnection-based objects.
In the case of Hurricane Helene, a warning was issues 36 hours before landfall. 36 hours is only a day and a half. Luckily it was a Monday, but we all know how offices don't fully work on the weekends. This is why planning ahead of time is of such importance. With only 36 hours to decide where to go, and what to shut down, you better have a plan ahead of time. That's also why many disaster plans are required by law to be ready ahead of time.
Either way, the hurricane comes and goes and these companies are left to pick up the pieces. According to an article by CRN, the hardest part tech companies experienced was accessing their cloud-services. Since the internet and data centers were out in the area. Smaller businesses definitely ended up more underwater than bigger in the fact their network connections are simply smaller.
Firewalls also suffered from not accessing any networks. Many companies had to use generators or exit from the area to restore their services. Other larger companies opened special areas where people could use their phones to connect to the Internet.
In situations like those, the millions of people that rely on Internet everyday, need to access it to check if their loved ones are okay. Disasters aren't just a test to a company, but a test of the companies' people too.
The article includes 10 testimonies from solution providers, vendors and distributors right after the hurricane.