December 05, 2005
Data Protection Services, LLC, (DPS), an online backup service provider located in Louisiana, took the initiative in getting their clients back in business following Hurricane Katrina. Jeff Danos, CEO of Data Protection Services, said “Many of our clients had experienced total losses of their computer systems and, in many cases, their entire offices. Even though their data was secure and available for immediate restore in our data vaults, they often lacked the resources to do so.”
DPS recognized the problem and realized that if a client had a laptop, their data could be restored to the laptop. This would enable them to initiate certain business functions even before they could obtain reliable Internet access. Internet connectivity is still not restored to many affected areas, twelve weeks after the storm. Shortly after the storm hit, the company posted a request for laptop donations on its website and sent an email to their clients explaining what the problem was. The company also sent an email to clients in the storm area informing them of what DPS was doing.
The first donated laptop arrived soon after the call went out and was from a long-time client, Flaster Greenburg Law Firm in Cherry Hill, NJ. Lindsay Jungers, the IT Manager at Flaster Greenburg arranged and coordinated the donation. “As soon as we received it,” said Danos, “we contacted a New Orleans area law firm that had informed us they couldn’t access their computers because of the severe damage their building had experienced. When we told them we could restore their data to a donated laptop that they could take with them, they were ecstatic.”
Companies are gradually recovering, and as they do, they are contacting DPS about getting their data restored. The latest donations came from a person who read about the program on the DPS website. Although not a client, he was moved by the plight of our clients and sent two computers. The machines were immediately made available to clients that needed assistance. Danos added, “We are happy to play a role in putting together companies that want to help with those that experienced destruction due to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.”
Since 1996, DPS has offered business clients a cost-effective alternative to the ongoing technical support costs of managing their own backups. Data Protection Services provides automatic remote backup to businesses throughout the United States and Canada.