Flow helps ODPEM prepare for disaster

WITH JAMAICA already weeks into the hurricane season, the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) has engaged Flow's business arm, Columbus Business Solutions, to provide a technological boost to its operations, particularly in the event of a natural disaster.

Under the recently signed agreement, Columbus is providing ODPEM with a state-of-the-art business continuity disaster recovery service, including data replication and remote access.

"As part of our disaster-risk reduction campaign, through this partnership, we have taken steps to protect our own systems and data in the event of a disaster event," explained Ronald Jackson, director general of ODPEM.

contingent plans

Michele English, president and CEO of Flow, said this partnership, helps to ensure that the ODPEM's offices will not be hampered by loss of, or lack of access to information. Should a natural disaster occur, "we are providing the ODPEM with connectivity as well as data replication, so we will enable them to operate from a different location in case there are disruptions to local services".

This partnership includes the copying of data from one location to another (data replication), therefore creating multiple up-to-date reproductions of their vital data. This allows ODPEM to access its most up-to-date information even in the event that their primary data is lost.

The solutions offered by Columbus Business allow ODPEM to safeguard all aspects of its informational framework.

"The internal systems that they use to manage their response systems, accounting, contacts that currently run on the computers at ODPEM will be merged with our facilities and virtualised," English expanded.

Jackson concurred, saying, "Our systems will be maintained so that in the event of a natural disaster or any other issue that results in damage to ODPEM's system in Jamaica, we can automatically phase over and continue to function."

The data, which will be updated in real time, will be housed in Columbus' storage site conveniently located in Curaçao. "The facility is outside of the hurricane belt and off the main fault lines that Jamaica, Haiti and Cayman lie on. As a general rule, it is good practice for companies located in high-risk disaster zones to have their secondary site located a minimum of 100 miles away from the danger zone. Curaçao satisfies these criteria." explained English.