Hurricane Florence Recovery Comes from an Unlikely Source: Datto

Hurricane Florence wreaked havoc for millions, and while protecting life and property are disaster relief team's main focus for obvious reasons, many small and medium-sized businesses have another concern: preserving the data they use to keep their businesses running.

Norwalk, CT-based Datto provides protection and disaster recovery services for just this kind of catastrophe. Last week, the company dispatched its Disaster Recovery Team (DRT) from Connecticut to the Raleigh-Durham area to work with their Managed Service Providers (MSPs) and IT partners to protect the small businesses affected by the storm.

Datto’s “DRT truck” has equipment and supplies that will help recovery efforts in the inevitable event of data loss. They are also assisting with basic supplies the area needs. Datto's also no stranger to hurricane relief; they provided the same disaster relief for Harvey and Irma last year.

We spoke with Matt Richards, Chief Marketing Officer of Datto about the program, and here's what he had to say.

Data recovery isn't something we traditionally consider during natural disasters like Hurricane Florence. How is Datto lending their services to help?

Digital recovery is not typically at the top of the checklist of steps following a disaster, but having the ability to digitally connect following a disaster can be as important a step toward recovery as regaining access to power and water. When Hurricane Harvey struck Texas last year, Datto saw the need for our managed service providers (IT partners), the businesses they serve, and local communities to get back up and running fast. For a small to medium-sized business, minimizing downtime provides the opportunity to be a step ahead of competition. For example, in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in Florida, with the help of Datto’s Disaster Response Team (DRT), a small local roofing company was able to get their network up and running and take incoming calls and work orders while their competitors remained offline.

We formed the Datto Disaster Response Team and deployed for the first time to Houston in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. There are three missions for the DRT: take inbound requests from partners in need, proactively reach out to partners in the affected area and ensure they are OK, and help local shelters. Our DRT springs into action when scope and scale of local infrastructure disruption are such that normal support isn’t enough. When we saw the power of Hurricane Florence, we knew our DRT had to deploy to the Carolinas to help.

Who makes up the Disaster Response Team (DRT)?

Our Disaster Response Team is a cross-departmental group of digital first responders comprised of 28 volunteer members from support and operations. First, we train them on a variety of safety and first responder courses. Then we break them into teams of 4 and finally we deploy in 6 day shifts. We just deployed team 2 to South Carolina, and team 1 will be returning shortly after 36 hours of handoff. The team spends their deployment embedded with a partner in the area, in this case in Garner, NC and then Columbia, SC. We help them as well as other partners assist folks in the area.

When we deploy, we usually also send along our DRT vehicle. Equipped with all of the tools our team needs to help those affected by the storm, here are some fun facts about the truck:

• The truck is a 2017 RAM Power Wagon, seats up to five people and has a custom cap
• Fuel Tank: 31 gallons gasoline
• Declared Weight: 9,010 lbs
• Payload: 1,263 lbs
• Tow capacity: 9,790 lbs

The truck carries everything from MREs and water filtration units, to extra fuel and water, as well as datto continuity and networking equipment to get partners and their customers back online.

How many businesses / people have you served since Florence hit?

The DRT is reaching out to over 2,000 partners in the local areas hit by the storm. Our Code Red team supports partners in disasters 24/7 every day of the year, and is also hard at work supporting those affected by Hurricane Florence. We have dozens of current active cases from this storm. We’ve also provided our local partners with six Datto Networking Appliances, and three Access Points to provide a 4G LTE WiFi connection. And, as the need arises, we supply local shelters with Wifi and other supplies as we move around the disaster area. Interestingly, the infrastructure in the Carolinas is not in as bad shape as it was in Houston, or even after Irma.

Can you share a little about a specific business you helped?

It’s a little early to give details, because many of our local IT partners are still in the process of helping businesses affected by the storm. In the past, we have helped MSPs move servers from flooded server rooms, helped an automotive testing facility get back online, and provided free WiFi to a dozen shelters all around Texas and Florida.

Anything else we should know about the program?

It is worth noting that all help provided by the DRT is completely free of charge. The company began disaster relief efforts during Hurricane Sandy when employees volunteered to weather the storm by camping out in sleeping bags in the Datto office in Connecticut so they could help customers in the local area. A more formal effort, The DRT was formed in the summer of 2017, when Hurricane Harvey was headed for Houston, and deployed to both Irma and Harvey disaster areas. Datto will continue to expand the DRT’s reach in each coming years as we formalize our relationships with national relief organizations, and explore mechanisms to respond to communities in need that are not tied solely to Datto partners.

Keep doing what you're doing, Datto.