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I.T. Management so Good it Tracks Thunderstorms

On Friday, June 18 2010, Chicago-based Agility Networks, an outsourced I.T. provider for small- and mid-sized businesses, watched and monitored a major thunderstorm that moved across the state of Illinois that afternoon.

The interesting way in which Agility monitored the storm and their client's I.T. systems exemplifies what businesses want, and what I.T. firms can now deliver – a constant, never-ending vigil on system status.

"This was amazing! 10 years ago we would have been waiting by the phone to hear from clients once the storm had passed them; we'd have no idea what was coming next.", said Matt Bartels, the Manager of the Agility Managed Services Department, "now, we're notified of just about everything that goes on, the client doesn't have to even pick up the phone!"

This was amazing! 10 years ago we would have been waiting by the phone to hear from clients once the storm had passed them; we'd have no idea what was coming next. - Matt Bartels

Friday's storm proved that – Agility's management center for over 3,500 devices at nearly 200 locations reported serious problems for multiple clients and read like a train schedule for the storm's track:
Aurora, IL : 3:41pm
Schaumburg, IL : 3:57pm
Hinsdale, IL : 3:49pm
Elmhurst, IL : 4:03pm
Des Plaines, IL : 4:08pm
Chicago: 4:25pm
Burr Ridge : 4:31pm
South East Side : 4:35pm

Agility's Management Platform (referred to as "AMP" to their clients) was still online as it was built to be (located in a secure, hardened, co-location facility) and delivering its never-ending stream of information to Mr. Bartels and all the consultants and clients of Agility. Mr. Bartels watched this unfold and managed things from his Wisconsin office and used the resources of AMP to track the path of the storm, by reviewing the power/Internet outage data from clients in the storm's path. With so many power interruptions, there was plenty of data to confirm what the weather radar was showing.

Dan Lapish, the Operations Manager at Agility Networks, said "This simply shows how advanced things have become – in the past, I would have been waiting for the other shoe to drop for an entire week – especially since this happened on a Friday when some clients have already started their weekend. This just proves it should be a whole lot easier for everyone involved to sleep at night knowing their I.T. systems are awake - even when you're up against a foe like Mother Nature."

Agility Aides Police

It was an early Sunday morning when Agility Networks received a frantic call from one of their clients. An unfortunate break-in had occurred and a very important laptop, with sensitive information, had been stolen. The client was concerned that they did not have any information to give the police to help track down the laptop. The private business data was at risk of being viewed by outsiders and possibly lost all together.

The story is interesting, shows how managed services can be powerful, and has a happy ending - read the entire story in pdf format here.

Disaster Recovery Lite

‘Disaster Recovery Lite’ is what we’re calling it. It is Agility’s newest offering from our Agility Management Platform (AMP) team and toolset. Robust DR plans are recommeded by Agility, but we understand that those plans can include hardware purchases, design and implementation that can easily cost tens of thousands of dollars to implement and manage. DR-Lite uses the capabilities of AMP to replicate your data in real-time to a back-up storage machine. It can be used on a machine by machine or server by server basis using spare memory/storage already on your network and the existing capabilities in the AMP toolset. Using storage devices a client already owns and a function of AMP that simply needs to be configured DR-Lite gives you a quick affordable disaster recovery plan.

The News

Agility Networks is pleased to release its new website. We hope it will help existing and potential clients answer questions and assist in their researching new technology and possibilities for their networks.

Check back often to stay up-to-date on Agility and thank you to the Agility Development team for their help in realizing the new site.