Alternative Market Briefing

Eze Castle claims severe U.S. winter tests business continuity plan

Tuesday, February 01, 2011

From Kirsten Bischoff, Opalesque New York:

If you live in the Northeast US by now you've realized that winter is here. And with 19 inches of snow still piled up on every street corner and a major ice storm ready to hit over the next 72 hours, it has become apparent that business continuity plans in place for major disasters, can also serve to increase productivity during more mundane disruptions, such as stormy weather.

"Today most people do have the ability to log into their work servers from home. However, you would be surprised at how many firms have a limited number of licenses to allow for that access," says Jason Nolan, Business Continuity Planner at Eze Castle Integration, which provides strategic IT services and technology solutions to financial firms.

Offsite access is purchased through firms such as Citrix, or VPN and typically firms purchase licenses based on what percentage of employees might be out on a given day due to travel or illness. Rarely do firms (even the largest firms) purchase licenses for every employee. For most firms, in cost terms that would be akin to paying double real estate for every employee - nobody is in two places at once. However, in those instances where an office is inoperable, or as has been the case this winter with weather emergencies - a state of emergency is declared by government officials - the number of employees logging in from home computers is......................

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