The Uncommon Problem You Can’t Manage Alone

Most workdays, everyone is at their desk, sitting at their computers, doing their jobs. Of course there are the usual problems. One worker is irritated with another, someone is taking credit for the other one’s work, someone wants to earn more money, but you know what to do. It happens everyday and you’ve dealt with it time and time again. Over the years, you’ve learned better ways to deal with these common issues.

Over the years, servers have advanced and improved the way your office functions. So much so, that you hardly even think about them. They’re so reliable, that really only a power outage, human error, or severe weather are the only types of “disasters”that cause them to crash.

Crashes, however, do happen. Perhaps not often, but they do. In 2014, CA Technologies conducted a survey and found downtime cost small business more $55,000 in revenue, midsize companies more than $91,000, and large companies more than $1,000,000. Yes, those figures seem outrageous, but consider what happens when your server is down. Your entire office instantaneously halts. Nearly every worker has nothing to do. You’ll still have to pay them for the day. And, you’ll probably have to pay them overtime for the work they normally would have completed that day (assuming you’ll be able to repair the system that day). Here are other ways system crashes cause losses:

o Emails are no longer coming in. Such could include sales requests and customer inquiries.

o Internal business communications completely stop. Sales, inventory, payroll, credit, etc. cannot be processed.

o No one is discussing, negotiating, or creating contracts. Violations may occur.

o Deadlines may be missed, causing stock losses and potential litigation.

o Priority and overnight shipments are vastly increased as orders were missed and/or received after the system crash was repaired.

o Customers turn to competition.

You may have a back-up plan, but that only protects information and documents that were saved prior to the crash. You need a Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP). A DRP is a documented, step-by-step process and/or procedure by which an organization protects and recoversits entire working system in the event of a disaster. It decreases downtime and diminishes data loss.

UCG Technologies

Thirty years ago, twenty-six year-old Jim Kandrac founded UCG Technologies (then known as United Computer Group, Inc). Back then, he knew combining cutting edge technology with a passion to exceed customer expectations would maintain a viable and constantly growing business. He was correct. UCG Technologies (UCG) continues to embrace those principles. Its customers agree. 98% of them return.

UCG are IBM i Experts working exclusively with IBM i High Availability Solutions (IBM I Disaster Recovery) and AS400 disaster recovery. To protect against crashes, agents backup your data over a protected and encoded Internet connection to UCG’s secure data centers, which you are able to monitor and manage within a web browser. Recovery is simple. Just navigate to the recovery point through an intuitive interface, and then click. During the backup and recovery process, FIPS-approved 256-bit AES encryption keeps your data secure.

UCG’s DRP offers a secure, highly reliable environment for your system and data. It actually serves as an extension of your organization and certifiesthe continuation of your operations, saving you time and money.

UCG also offers IBM i Hosting (AS400 high availability), an AS400 cloud backup solution that both standardizes your electronic data interchange and satisfies your confidentiality and security standards.

You can depend on UCG 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. See its website today.

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Important Lessons

British Airways

In May 2017, a major computer failure grounded thousands of flights over a two-day weekend. The fiasco affected 75,000 and required additional staffing. The airline easily lost well over $100 million – probably closer to $200 million. The culprit: a power surge

This came eight months after a worldwide computer glitch caused a major systems failure, which stranded 300,000 customers, lost luggage, outsourced jobs, and other major problems.

Delta Airlines

In August 2016, Delta Air Lines’ operations center lost power for five hours. It had to ground 1,000 flights and scratch 1,000 even more over the next two days. It further gave customers vouchers and refunds. Delta lost $150 million dollars. It claimed that it was an internal problem.

Less than one year later, in April 2017, Delta suffered another systems failure and canceled more than 285 flights and delayed another 625, impacting twenty five percent of its nationwide flights. The perpetrator: a thunderstorm.

Workers were trying hard to get the system functioning, but yet another thunderstorm affected their progress and caused four days worth of interruptions.

It might be easy to see how the airlines went through the first crashes. They had Disaster Recovery Plans, but they were flawed. They didn’t, however, modernize or perfect those plans. That was inexcusable.

You may say that the above examples pertain to airlines. What do they have to do with my businesses? If you have a server upon which you depend, well, a lot. Your business could suffer a system crash just as easily and you could lose business and customers just as easily, too. And, you can learn from the airlines’ mistake by ensuring you have an up-to-date, effective Disaster Recovery Plan.

A Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP) is an outlined method by which a company or entity safeguards and recoversits entire working system should a disaster ever take place. Disasters include, but are certainly not limited to:

o technicalglitches

o system failures

o power outages

o weather

o human error

o cyber attacks

o data theft

UCG Technologies

Thirty years ago, twenty-six year-old Jim Kandrac founded UCG Technologies (then known as United Computer Group, Inc). He believed combining cutting edge technology with a desire to surpass customer anticipation would sustain a workable and constantly growing company. He was right. Today, 98% of UCG Technologies’ (UCG) customers return.

UCG Technologies (UCG) are IBM i hosting working exclusively with IBM Power Systems in combination with IBM i High Availability Solutions (IBM I Disaster Recovery) and AS400 Disaster Recovery. UCG’s plans back major platforms including the IBM i Series, System AS/400, Windows, Linux, UNIX, and I.

UCG disaster recovery centers offer a safe, dependable environment for your system and data. It actually serves as an extension of your business and makes sure your operations continue to function efficiently. It also offers offers IBM i Hosting (AS400 high availability), an AS400 cloud backup solution that both standardizes your electronic data interchange and satisfies your confidentiality and security standards.

See UCG’s website today.

Request Enterprise Management Software Demo

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A Reminder to Plan

Hurricane Harvey and now Hurricane Irma. Everyone around the world empathizes with those suffering overwhelming losses and wants to do anything they can to help.

Right now, the focus is on saving lives. That’s what’s most important now. Eventually, the waters will recede and, hopefully, the victims will be able to return to their lives. They will never, however, recoup all that was lost. Imagine that. It’s certainly devastating.

Many businesses have also been destroyed and damaged. They, too, may never be able to salvage what was ruined. If they had a Disaster Recovery Plan, however, their data would remain perfectly safe and they’d be able to fully restore their entire system whenever they wanted. They could set-up a temporary office and work wherever and whenever they wanted.

Terrible times always make you think. Of course, your thoughts should always be with the victims. But, such incidents serve as reminders that there are always lessons to be learned and ways in which we could always be prepared.

Businesses need Disaster Recovery Plans. Roughly 80% of businesses that remain interrupted for more than five days fail. So a Disaster Recovery Plan is vital. You may claim hurricanes aren’t common in your area. Well, it’s been nearly forty years since Texas experienced such a hurricane. And, weather and power surges aren’t the only system crash culprits. People sometimes make mistakes. Even the most careful, detail oriented, experienced individuals accidentally delete files, forget to save files, and cause crashes. And, even the best, most reliable systems encounter glitches and fail.

UCG Technologies

Thirty years ago, twenty-six year-old Jim Kandrac established UCG Technologies (then known as United Computer Group, Inc). He believed combining innovative technology with a goal to exceed customer expectations would support a practical and constantly growing company. He was right. Today, 98% of UCG Technologies’ (UCG) customers remain with the company.

UCG is now a full-service data protection company, with corporate clients in thirty-one states, Canada, the Caribbean and Europe, and its business continues to grow at a controlled rate of 20% + each year. UCG sees itself as a business partner, where clients concentrate on business and it safeguards their systems operations. The updated name reflects its business partner outlook and goals.

UCG is IBM i Experts working exclusively with IBM Power Systems with IBM i High Availability Solutions (IBM I Disaster Recovery) and AS400 Disaster Recovery. UCG’s plans back major platforms including the IBM i Series, System AS/400, Windows, Linux, UNIX, and I.

UCG disaster recovery centers provide a secure, reliable setting for your system and data. It actually functions as an extension of your system and ensures that your business continues to operate proficiently. It also provides IBM i Hosting (AS400 high availability), an AS400 Disaster Recovery solution that both standardizes your electronic data interchange and satisfies your confidentiality and security standards.

Technology constantly changes. One thing that has never changed is UCG’s obsessive commitment to customer satisfaction.

See UCG’s website today.

Request Enterprise Management Software Demo

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