MultiModemII Restores Mission Critical Communications After an EarthquakeIS Manager Uses Dial Backup Feature to Get Offices Back Online within 24 HoursThe Challenge
In the chaos following the earthquake, Bledsoe was responsible for getting the branch offices back online as fast as possible. Leased lines were out of service around the Palo Alto office. They were looking at as much as a month before service would be restored in Palo Alto, said Bledsoe. And his company couldn't afford to be out of touch for one day.
The Solution While Bledsoe sat in an airplane headed for California, six MultiModemII corporate modems built by Multi-Tech Systems were being drop shipped at the Palo Alto office. Within 24 hours of the earthquake, Bledsoe restored the office's data communications. "I used the MultiModemII because it solved the immediate problem and could be used in the future…." The MultiModemII MT2834BL, a leased line modem with a dial backup port let Bledsoe "…restore communications quickly, while others waited for their leased lines." Async Dial Backup With leased lines down in Palo Alto, but analog lines available, Bledsoe needed to install analog modems. He selected the MultiModemII with dial backup. Using the analog dial backup connection on the MultiModemII, he restored communications between all offices within 24 hours of the earthquake, while other businesses in the area were still down." Bledsoe said he selected the MultiModemII with dial backup with more than just reliability and ease of installation in mind. The MultiModemII would replace their existing sync modems. Once leased line service was restored, each MultiModemII would remain connected to an analog line so if the leased line service were to go down again, the mission-critical communications would switch to analog line service. Reliable Like many businesses running on tight IS budgets, his meager staff of three was responsible for keeping all offices, nationwide, connected to the central office. He placed a high premium on equipment that performed as expected. Prior to the earthquake, Bledsoe had been shopping for vendors who could deliver products that performed as expected, required very little maintenance and were easy to install. A colleague suggested he look at Multi-Tech products. Bledsoe installed and tested several Multi-Tech MultiModemIIs in the central office and liked what he saw. When the call for help came from Palo Alto, he called for the MultiModemII. That was back in 1989. Today Bledsoe, president of E=mc2 Limited® in Sacramento, California, reports that he's "…used Multi-Tech products for ten years and has not seen one fail yet." Reliability through quality control remains one of Multi-Tech's core values. In our ISO 9002 certified facility, we don't batch test our products. Every modem must pass testing at the board-, component- and build-level before it ships. Our commitment to quality is apparent in our 99.5%+ modem reliability rating. Customer Service When Bledsoe started E=mc2 to provide solutions for individual users, SOHOs and branch regional offices he spent about nine months doing his homework on potential vendors. He settled on Multi-Tech because, "Whether I'm asked to get an office online ASAP after an earthquake or provide equipment for security in a federal courthouse, I need two things: a reliable product and service. In our ten year relationship — and it is a two-way relationship — I've never seen a product fail and I get the technical support I need." Today, Bledsoe uses Multi-Tech products in numerous business security applications for business and government. Bledsoe said that while many large companies are targeting small businesses today, they sometimes fall short on the customer service side. "Multi-Tech technical support is free! Not many vendors support their customers this way anymore. And when I call, they answer the phone!" Contact Information E=mc2 Limited |
In 1989, Michael Bledsoe, IS manager for a national personnel staffing firm with headquarters in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, got an urgent call. The San Francisco earthquake knocked out all data communications between five California branch offices and the regional hub in Palo Alto. The Palo Alto hub was required to transfer mission-critical customer, employment and payroll information between the branch offices and the central office in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.