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Buffalo Snowstorm Underscores the Resilience of VoIP

November 24, 2014

By Laura Stotler - Virtual PBX Contributing Editor

Santa’s workshop is working overtime by this stage of the season and the jolly old elf certainly doesn’t let a little snow slow him down or deter him from his mission. The same can be said of managed service providers (MSPs) in the Buffalo, N.Y. area, which was pounded with several feet of the white stuff over the past week.


Buffalo is used to a snowy winter but the recent storm was extreme, bringing more than seven feet of snow to some areas. And more snow is in the forecast for this week, but that hasn’t stopped IT service providers from keeping their customers up and running.

"It's business as usual for us today despite the snow," said Skip Gould, CEO of BrightPlanIT, a network and systems integration service provider in Buffalo. While most of the MSP’s employees are working remotely from home, they are still answering phones and staying on top of systems and operations. And that is largely enabled because of VoIP and virtual PBX systems.

According to Ikram Massabinin, owner of MSP MVP Network Consulting, a majority of his 32 employees worked from home during the recent storm thanks to VoIP and Kaseya PSA tools. He added that even though many of his clients had closed their offices, their IT systems and networks remained up and running because of the dedication of his employees and their ability to work remotely using VoIP.

"We're as necessary as an emergency room or utility because our customers rely on what we do," said David Stinner, president and founder of US itek in the Buffalo area. "I do what it takes, and I'll get my Suburban four wheel drive out and get to the office if we need to because our policy is to support our clients' needs. They rely on us in times like this when they have to operate remotely. They need the extended support to work remotely."

Stinner added that his company uses VoIP phones and a reliable PSA tool to serve their clients during emergency situations. The MSP also employs disaster recovery tools and cloud computing to ensure their customers’ networks remain up and running. For many service providers, a situation like last week’s storm offers a chance to show customers their capabilities as well as the power of VoIP and virtual PBX systems.

One thing seems clear, customers in the Buffalo area can rest assured that their service providers are well equipped to handle massive amounts of snow and other emergencies, thanks to next-generation technology like VoIP. Perhaps Santa also employs VoIP to stay in touch with his workshop throughout the busy holiday season.




Edited by Alisen Downey

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