feature Preparing for the Unexpected system for Spadofora’s staff to receive voice messages left by customers and to return the calls. The pharmacy was destroyed, says Spadofora, but the ability to contact customers had been key to supporting the community. “The community is trying to build up and embrace life,” says Spadofora. “We hope to rebuild and open quickly and remain a beacon of light and hope for the community. TeleManager has helped us greatly during this tremendously devastating natural disaster.” In addition to powering down computer equipment and taking data off-site, Campbell’s boarded up its store’s windows. Below, filling prescriptions with limited power.
According to TeleManager CEO Paul Kobylevsky, the company’s offices in Newark, N.J., lost power, but cloud technology meant no missed phone calls and uninterrupted service and support to pharmacy customers. Kobylevsky switched the company to the cloud-based technology as part of its disaster contingency plan. The production servers are in a highly secure and power-redundant tier-one data center. During the storm, the company provided service and support to its cloud-based customers, even those without power. Kobylevsky says that TeleMancontinued on next page
had lights, refrigeration, and telephones, thanks to the generators. A shelter opened a few blocks away from the pharmacy for residents who lost everything in the storm. Campbell’s was able to fill their prescriptions. Ultimately, the store was without power for six days and sustained damage to the windows. While they did lose some refrigerated inventory, they didn’t get behind on their prescription volume. When the store reopened on Nov. 5, it was like a normal Monday. Campbell says that after Hurricane Irene in August 2011, his father, Denis, decided to install a generator that could power the entire store. However, the more powerful generator hadn’t been installed when Sandy hit. Campbell says it should be installed soon.
The Stability of the Cloud Here’s a case where cloud computing came to the rescue. Staten Island, N.Y., was another area hit particularly hard by the storm. TeleManager customer Midland Pharmacy took advantage of the company’s IVR cloudbased services to keep the business running during the rocky time after the storm. According to Midland Pharmacy owner Lou Spadofora, TeleManager set up a November/December 2012
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