Cybersecurity | FIBERTOWN BLOG

As January winds down, cold spells continue to march across the country.

It begs the question: Are you prepared for the late arrival of winter?

Winter weather has now arrived in full force around the Gulf Coast and Southeastern US, and some are having flashbacks to Winter Storm Uri and the subsequent freezes.

Is your facility prepared for any winter weather that comes your way?

Here are our top four concerns to be prepared for as winter rolls on.

Be prepared for whatever winter brings

While there’s no guarantees with weather — it’s best to be prepared for anything. If you haven’t already, check on these important areas of concern.

The potential for severe weather as cold fronts move through. Are you prepared for severe weather to impact your power supply? What emergency plans does your facility have in place today? Make sure you’ve removed debris and secured any stored material in preparation for high winds.
Back-up generator maintenance. Are your battery and charging systems ready for a 30-degree temperature swing overnight? Do you have block heaters operational to keep engines ready to start during cold weather? Are your coolant systems at appropriate mixture/levels to survive a hard freeze?
Cooling and HVAC systems. Are your chillers and chilled water systems insulated and freeze protected? Make sure your humidifiers are operational and prepared to add humidity. The goal here is to prevent static electricity from low relative humidity as cold, dry air dominates. What about your rooftop systems and drain/plumbing; are they freeze protected?
Uninterruptible power supplies (UPS). Are your UPS well maintained and ready to support a critical load? For example; during an unplanned utility outage or generator issue?

Plan for the worst

We get it — investing money in “precautions” and planning for the “what-ifs” sounds like a lot of dollar signs on the chance of a possibility.

But, trust us, you do not want to be on the other end, wishing that you had been prepared.

Did you know the average cost of downtime can be up to $11,600 per minute? That can really add up quickly.

In winter weather, temperatures can go from 80 degrees to 30 degrees in less than 12 hours.

At FIBERTOWN, you can be sure that we are always prepared for the worst. Our customers depend on it.

Do you have a backup plan?

Putting your emergency plans down on paper ensures that everything goes smoothly when you need to activate it. And make sure everyone has access to the plans — in an offline environment.

Year-long diligence with preventative maintenance will help prevent failures when unplanned outages occur.

For you and your employees – prevent a bad day from getting worse! If your company is working from home, what is the plan if the internet goes out?

FIBERTOWN is prepared with disaster recovery office space should you need it. Contact us today to chat about specs and your needs. We’re here to help!

Security.

In the IT world, you’ll hear that word almost daily.

But it’s more than just firewalls and cybersecurity.

Guarding your physical equipment inside the data center is also vital.

At FIBERTOWN, we take care of your physical security so you can focus on your network and growing your company.

Best in class security measures

While it might seem like the most important part of security is to lock down your digital access, the physical side is just as important.

Is your data center protecting you?

Unauthorized access to your servers or equipment can trigger massive problems for companies.

Make sure that your physical security is just as top-of-the-line as your cybersecurity.

Here’s a list of the top 5 ways we keep our clients’ equipment safe inside our data centers in Houston and Bryan, Texas.

Security guards.

Our facilities start with a guard-controlled entrance 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. You can count on our security team to follow scheduled protocols for our buildings. Our 24/7 on-site NOC and security teams perform multiple walkthroughs of the interior and exterior of our properties every single day.

Difficult physical access points.

When we designed the buildings, we took security up a notch. Architectural man traps were designed between the exterior of our buildings and the interior. We also have a single entry/exit with secure alarmed emergency exits.

Badged entry.

Not only do we require badged entry with multi-factor authentication, but it’s required for each access area.

First, to get into the interior of the building, second, to go up the elevator, and third, to get into the data center suite. We do not allow any unauthorized entry.

Locked cabinets and cages.

Our cabinets require locks, and our cages have a keyed entrance; some even require access with a key, badge, and a biometric lock. If you’re interested in the second-tier security access for your gear, ask our team about how to upgrade.

24/7 monitored video surveillance.

We always monitor our facilities with 24/7 video and a digital archive. Access reports are also maintained and can be sent to clients to ensure only authorized members will get in.

While we generally don’t have locked cabinets or cages in our disaster recovery office space, all of the other security measures apply.

Physical security is important at FIBERTOWN.

It’s just another way we offer our customers peace of mind; so you can focus on what you do best — running your company.

For more specifics about how we keep your equipment safe, download our data center information sheet.

Tag: Cybersecurity

4 Key Facility Areas to Prepare for Winter Weather