Buffalo IT Company Uses Snow Mobiles to Get to Office


When a maelstrom of snow and ice slammed Buffalo, New York last week, many information technology companies were able to stay productive since their employees could work from home, but they still needed a way to make sure their servers were running efficiently. For MVP Network Consulting, that meant having to take drastic, unconventional measures.”I hate to say, but sometimes we use snowmobiles to get to the office,” said Ikram Massabini, owner of MVP Network Consulting. Massabini joined many of his 32 employees last week, choosing to also work from home. Two members of the team, though, did have to go in to the office to ensure that the data center stayed up and running, and that their cloud computing service remained reliable. Massabini said that this was an opportunity to show clients “the value in what we do for them.” MVP Network Consulting wasn’t the only company to work remotely either. Many other IT businesses’ employees were able to work from home, too, thanks to cloud computing. In fact, that’s part of the reason why more than 60% of businesses have chosen to utilize the cloud for IT-related operations — it’s why so many companies are able to work remotely during the sudden blizzard. “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 Tonawanda, NY-based US itek. “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.” “It’s business as usual for us today despite the snow,” said BrightPlanIT CEO Skip Gould. Though some of BrightPlanIT’s employees were able to make it in to work, Gould said his own vehicle was stranded, and wound up getting stuck overnight at the fire department. His lead salesperson’s house was also buried under six feet of snow. Yet, despite the hard-hitting storm, employees were still able to carry on and take care of clients. The only trouble, Gould said, was that the mail was delayed.

When a maelstrom of snow and ice slammed Buffalo, New York last week, many information technology companies were able to stay productive since their employees could work from home, but they still needed a way to make sure their servers were running efficiently. For MVP Network Consulting, that meant having to take drastic, unconventional measures.”I hate to say, but sometimes we use snowmobiles to get to the office,” said Ikram Massabini, owner of MVP Network Consulting.

Massabini joined many of his 32 employees last week, choosing to also work from home. Two members of the team, though, did have to go in to the office to ensure that the data center stayed up and running, and that their cloud computing service remained reliable.

Massabini said that this was an opportunity to show clients “the value in what we do for them.”

MVP Network Consulting wasn’t the only company to work remotely either. Many other IT businesses’ employees were able to work from home, too, thanks to cloud computing. In fact, that’s part of the reason why more than 60% of businesses have chosen to utilize the cloud for IT-related operations — it’s why so many companies are able to work remotely during the sudden blizzard.

“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 Tonawanda, NY-based US itek. “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.”

“It’s business as usual for us today despite the snow,” said BrightPlanIT CEO Skip Gould.

Though some of BrightPlanIT’s employees were able to make it in to work, Gould said his own vehicle was stranded, and wound up getting stuck overnight at the fire department. His lead salesperson’s house was also buried under six feet of snow. Yet, despite the hard-hitting storm, employees were still able to carry on and take care of clients.

The only trouble, Gould said, was that the mail was delayed.