12-04-12 | Blog Post

Flood-Prone Data Centers Look Positively to Michigan

Blog Posts

Looks like umbrellas and raincoats are on call for Pacific Northwest residents as multiple storms have dumped up to 20 inches of rain over the past week. This area is facing flash flood warnings and wind gusts up to 60 to 80 mph. Now officials are keeping an eye on hillsides that are prone to mudslides.

As we watched severe storms hit both the East and West coasts this fall, the Midwest is enjoying warmer than normal temperatures. Unfortunately, data centers are extremely vulnerable to natural disasters such as severe storms and flooding. Flooding can leave areas uninhabitable for days or weeks until the water recedes, making an IT disaster recovery/business continuity plan necessary to avoid major data loss or extreme downtime.

Weather Climate Disasters
Weather Climate Disasters

As IT departments develop disaster recovery/business continuity plans, they are looking for data centers in low-risk geographical locations. If we look at NOAA’s (National Oceanic and Atomspheric Administration) statistics for Weather/Climate Disasters, Michigan is one of the few states that have only seen between 1 to 8 natural disasters from 1980 to 2011. According to FEMA’s Michigan Disaster History, the last Michigan flooding declaration was in 2008.

I’ve have spoken to many customers located in coastal regions, such as Florida and Virgina, who considered only Midwest data centers. They knew that the Midwest, and especially Michigan, offered them a geographical area that has year round, low-risks for natural disasters. For example, one customer based in Roanoke, Virginia, specifically wanted to find a Midwest hosting location that was not susceptible to hurricanes and flooding. He understood the financial impact a natural disaster would have on his online business if his website was down.

Online Tech has evolved to become one of Michigan’s largest managed data center operators, providing a significant advantage over East and West coast providers with the strategic design of our facilities. Find out how by visiting Michigan Data Centers.

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