Strengthening Energy Resiliency in 2015

According to a recent Consumer Reports story, NYU Langone Medical Center and Bellevue Hospital had to evacuate nearly 1,000 patients when the impact of Superstorm Sandy caused power and back-up systems to fail. When Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, failing generators contributed to the death of 215 patients in hospitals and nursing homes. These numbers… Continue reading Strengthening Energy Resiliency in 2015

Resiliency and the Nation’s Power Grid

How long can the nation’s electrical power grid endure without a catastrophic event? It’s a question that energy and homeland security officials routinely ask – along with what they can do to prevent or mitigate such a calamity. Utilities and their corporate customers also wonder what they can and should do. Their concern is warranted… Continue reading Resiliency and the Nation’s Power Grid

Regional Preparedness Critical Communications

No matter how well-prepared a region is, it is a reality that crises can and will happen. Although critical events can’t always be prevented, with proper planning and the correct systems in place the level of physical, financial, or reputational damage can be minimized or managed. Most importantly, successful crisis management depends on an organization’s… Continue reading Regional Preparedness Critical Communications

Minimizing Downtime in Critical Power Infrastructure

In the data-driven world we live in today, fast and reliable access to information to and from your company’s business system is critical to the survival of your business. Without a reliable infrastructure, your data is at risk. The primary focus of this critical power system design is what will a power outage and the… Continue reading Minimizing Downtime in Critical Power Infrastructure

Mamas, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Business Continuity Professionals

I recently had the opportunity to participate in a business continuity event, hosted by the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland, which took a close look at resilience in supply chain management. It was a wonderfully new experience, with at least two-thirds of the audience comprised of students from UMD… Continue reading Mamas, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Business Continuity Professionals

Improving Availability, Data Protection, and System Performance

Learn about six best practices that can help your organization ensure higher service availability, protect data better, and improve system performance. Downtime of critical business services, associated data loss, and the need to maintain required performance levels are top concerns for all enterprise information technology (IT) teams. As a result, companies are shifting toward an… Continue reading Improving Availability, Data Protection, and System Performance

Having a Successful Public Private Partnership

The importance of public private partnerships in assisting in planning, response, and recovery from a disaster has long been known. Over the years you have read in this column about real-world examples of these partnerships. But I still see a reluctance of private sector organizations in joining or forming such partnerships. Why is that? There… Continue reading Having a Successful Public Private Partnership

Facts and Stats … An Update

Several years ago, I published an article with DRJ entitled “Facts and Stats” that listed the scales of measurement for various types of phenomena, mostly weather related. Recently, I was amazed to see a few of these have since been updated … Cyclones, Hurricanes, and Typhoons Hurricane season in the Atlantic begins June 1st and… Continue reading Facts and Stats … An Update

DevOps: History, Principles, Tools, and Business Impact

DevOps is an important technology movement that is often misunderstood. It may seem like just another exotic and passing software fad. However, DevOps is gaining enough steam that it’s important to understand its impact on IT. What is DevOps and Where Did it Come From? DevOps is primarily a cultural or philosophical movement about how… Continue reading DevOps: History, Principles, Tools, and Business Impact