Case Study | Recovering your IT network in a Disaster
Challenge
When Tropical Storm Allison wreaked havoc across the city of Houston and knocked out power to downtown businesses, law firm Porter & Hedges learned the true value of a business partner such as Rafte & Company. The devastating storm flooded the underground tunnel system and garage of the downtown building that housed Porter & Hedges’ offices, rendering the building uninhabitable for at least a month.
In the meantime, Porter & Hedges had a law firm to run and clients to serve. The firm needed access to the information on its servers in order to remain in operation. Rafte & Company, a strategic technology systems integrator and business solutions provider for law firms, came to the rescue. Within a few days of the storm, Rafte employees were climbing 35 flights of stairs in the disabled building to retrieve Porter & Hedges’ computer hardware and install it at Rafte offices so the law firm could be functional again.
“I can’t say enough about Rafte & Company’s level of commitment and responsiveness,” said Paul Brown, Executive Director at Porter & Hedges. “The challenge was getting us up and running as soon as possible. Rafte was right there from day one when we made the phone call. They got their people allocated to us. They were there.”
Solution
Rafte & Company reacted immediately to the needs of Porter & Hedges after Tropical Storm Allison hit. Rafte & Company employees restored Porter & Hedges computer capability by working around the clock to get the servers up and running. One Rafte employee even braved the elements to pick up spare hardware.
Since Tropical Storm Allison, Rafte & Company has helped Porter & Hedges develop and implement a business continuity plan to help avoid a future disruption in business in the event of a disaster. Porter & Hedges has set up an offsite co-location that houses servers with backup information on them.
“The exchange server, the document management server and even the server that handles handheld device data are all mirrored offsite so that if something happened to our facility here we won’t miss a heartbeat,” Brown said. “We would continue to be able to function. During our response to Tropical Storm Alison, which forced us out of our building for an extended period, Rafte approached it as if it was their own business that they were trying to get up and running.”
Results
If the operations of a law firm are interrupted, it can have a profound ripple effect. For instance, if a law firm that is representing a company in a merger experiences a fire or other prolonged business disruption, it could derail the client company’s merger. Rafte & Company helps law firms prepare for potential outages by developing, implementing and testing business continuity plans.
Rafte’s 10 fundamentals for ensuring firm continuity include the following:
- People always come first
- Understand and plan for the fact that the firm will not be employees’ top priority
- Double-check the backup
- Consider accessibility a priority
- Think creatively
- Remember redundancy
- Maintain flexibility
- Have realistic expectations
- Establish responsibilities
- Consider the way your staff currently works
The Bottom Line:
- Porter & Hedges has embraced business continuity fundamentals, including planning, testing the plan and updating it regularly.
- Porter & Hedges has off-site redundant systems so information can be easily retrieved in the event of a disaster
- Porter & Hedges has processes in place through which employees can reconnect after a disaster
- Porter & Hedges managers, attorneys and other employees understand their responsibilities in the event of a disaster
- Porter & Hedges is in the process of converting its vulnerable paper files into an electronic format, increasing the availability of the information in the event of a disaster
- Porter & Hedges can focus on clients instead of worrying about what might happen in the event of another disaster
About Rafte & Business Continuity Planning Services
Rafte consultants are highly experienced in strategy, business operations, and accounting system infrastructure. We deliver customized solutions that drive critical processes closer to the firm’s strategy. This approach allows us to assist with improving business processes and therefore improving the capabilities of the firm.
Call us today to discuss your Business Continuity needs. Call 800-396-9390 or send us an e-mail to info@rafte.com. Rafte & Company will be happy to learn more about your business needs and offer guidance regarding the best way to protect your information in the event of a disaster and to set up processes to minimize downtime and to help your employees.
