Disaster Preparedness Daily News

Posts Tagged ‘disaster preparedness’

With growing concern about the rapid spread of the H1N1 virus as students return to school and as the fall flu season quickly approaches, pandemic disaster preparedness and business continuity have become urgent priorities for healthcare providers. AnyWare Group Inc., a provider of remote access solutions for hospitals and healthcare facilities, launched its ROAM Disaster Preparedness solution to support and enable pandemic planning initiatives for the healthcare sector. When physical access to a facility has been restricted, this AnyWare Group solution allows healthcare professionals, first responders and others to remotely access essential applications and vital information from any device (e.g., PCs, Macs, PDAs).

As a managed service, the AnyWare Group Disaster Preparedness solution can be implemented within days without incurring capital costs for hardware and software, including related license agreements. With this ROAM solution, there are no monthly billing fees until the service is used to provide remote access to staff in the case of an emergency or pandemic.

“Lessons learned from SARS as well as other isolated incidents of facility closures due to disease outbreaks, reinforce that secure and timely remote access should be an integral component of any pandemic planning program for hospitals and healthcare facilities,” says J.R. Dick, Director, I.T.at Quinte Health Care. AnyWare Group’s ROAM solution is used by Quinte Health Care to provide healthcare workers with remote access to critical applications and ensure ongoing business continuity.

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Despite confidence in client loyalty, SMBs without effective disaster preparedness plans lose customers.

Symantec Corp. announced the findings of its 2009 SMB Disaster Preparedness Survey, reflecting the attitudes and practices of small and mid-sized businesses (SMB) and their customers toward technology disaster preparedness. The report shows a large discrepancy between how SMBs perceive their disaster readiness and their actual level of preparedness. The data also suggests SMB downtime costs their customers tens of thousands of dollars each year. As a result, the findings show that SMBs can – and often do – lose business as a direct result of being unprepared for disasters.

“The startling part of this research is the fact that SMBs don’t realize the impact their outages have on customers, particularly when they have tools at their fingertips to help them be prepared to deal with disasters,” said Pat Hanavan, vice president, Backup Exec product management, Symantec. “While no one wants a disaster to occur, the reality is that they happen. Rather than continuing to be unprepared, small and mid-sized organizations can take simple steps to protect their data. And, as companies communicate their plans to their customers, they strengthen those relationships and become a trusted partner.”

Confidence High Regarding Preparedness

The findings show that SMBs are confident in their disaster preparedness plans. Eighty-two percent of respondents say they are somewhat/very satisfied with their disaster plans, and a similar number (84 percent) say they feel somewhat/very protected in case a disaster strikes. SMBs also believe their customers will be understanding and patient if there is a disruption to their computer or technology resources. In case of such an outage, only one-third (34 percent) of SMB respondents believe their customers will evaluate other options, including looking at competitors. Read the rest of this entry »

The American Red Cross is proud to announce that The Clorox Company has committed to sponsoring Do More Than Cross Your Fingers, a public awareness campaign encouraging and enabling personal preparedness in the event of an emergency.

Clorox’s $500,000 sponsorship pledge includes both cash and marketing support that will expand the reach of the Red Cross preparedness message. A variety of consumer and media outreach efforts throughout the year will highlight the importance of being prepared, and offer easy steps every family can take.

“As a long-time partner of the American Red Cross, we’re proud to support such an important campaign focused on family safety during emergencies,” says Benno Dorer, Senior Vice President - General Manager, Cleaning Division at The Clorox Company. “Our goal is to help spread the word that a few simple steps in emergency planning can make a significant difference in protecting your family.”

A recent Red Cross study shows that about half of all Americans have experienced an emergency situation. However, only about 12 percent are reasonably prepared to react to a disaster. Research also indicated less than half have taken the three key preparedness steps-get a kit, make a plan and be informed-as recommended by the Red Cross to help prepare for disasters. Read the rest of this entry »