I can’t imagine what it must be like at the precise moment you realize that your years of hard work are gone in an instant. Your livelihood, and those of your employees, have just been taken from you in an unspeakable disaster. Sadly, for many businesses this is how it’s going to end. Unfortunately, Advantage Design Group’s Catherine Swingle had just those thoughts, after her Friday morning routine was interrupted with a call that her office was on fire, completely engulfed, and a total loss. She pulled up in her car, frantic and the firemen didn’t let her any closer, until she explained that it was her business on fire. She arrived just in time to see brave firemen tossing her servers on the wet grass, half melted and still smoking. Without stopping for a mental breakdown, like many would have, she focused her attention instead on a customer’s deadline on Monday. And in her mind, the fire wasn’t any excuse to miss it. Her insurance agent heard the news on the radio and diverted his morning commute to the scene. He had insurance papers in hand. They were covered. It was going to be OK. Her next few calls were to her computer suppliers and her colocation facility. Everyone rallied in support. This is what the feature is about this month. The obvious lesson is to be prepared for the unexpected, but what really gets Catherine Swingle choked up today is the attitude of her key resource partners that worked 24/7 to put her back into business. You will learn more about them in the following pages. To have a devastating fire on a Friday and be open for business on Monday is pretty remarkable no matter what your industry. Oh and that deadline? They nailed it and the customer didn’t even know what happened. That’s textbook disaster planning. Until next time, Brian Barquilla