Apex Fire
This month we have two client stories that share a similar theme – unexpected disasters! In both examples, Q2Q stepped in to assist each of our clients with measures to get them operational again with as little downtime or inconvenience as possible. Our team take much pride in their willingness to move mountains, ability to think around problems, and (something very often overlooked) understanding of the human element, when any of our clients fall foul to something unexpected.
What was the issue?
The client suffered an unexpected, on-premise server failure. Due to the server’s business critical nature, they could not continue without it.
What did we do to fix it?
Over the weekend, we moved several critical servers from local physical servers to AWS (Amazon Web Services). Due to our state of the art, cloud-based backup and disaster recovery systems, each server was able to be restored with all system data exactly as before. The team took the opportunity to upgrade the servers to the latest operating systems and then overlayed the data on top. We prepared remote desktop services and connections for all users ready for the staff arriving for work Monday.
What effect did it have for the client?
The staff lost little to no operational time and are now utilising a cloud-based solution that doesn’t have the same limitations as their previous physical servers, and instead offers an agile solution as the business changes.
Apex Fire are based in Ireland, and so the ability to support remotely, using a broad spectrum of remote support tools available to us, even for such intricate work, was paramount to being able to assist quickly, and get them up and running so soon, removing hours of travel time and allowing more Q2Q brains to work collaboratively to get things fixed.
Armitstead Barnet
What was the issue?
The cellar at the client’s office had a small flood during the weekend, meaning there was a couple of inches of water covering the floor. With IT kit and other electrical equipment sited in this area, there was concern that damage may occur.
What did we do to fix it?
Q2Q were contacted, and initially gave advice over the phone as to anything that could be done immediately. While the management at Armitstead Barnett organised an electrician to attend, Q2Q sent two engineers to site to assist.
With the flooding not getting any worse, we ensured the equipment on site was safe from the flood water, swapped any cables that were immersed in the water. The network and servers were brought back online and everything tested. All of the additional client sites were contacted to ensure they had regained connection back to the server hub.
What effect did it have for the client?
Q2Q were able to ensure that no equipment was damaged and brought the client systems back to full operational status within a few hours meaning they were able to continue to work and operate as normal, while the flood was repaired and cleaned up.
The engineers who attended to assist, were gifted a bottle of Gin by the client as a gesture of gratitude for the swift response and reparation of the fault. There was at least some of this left on Sunday morning!
