”Our fiber optic hub is down!”  On Wednesday, December 11, a major communications provider in Pensacola, Florida, experienced a critical failure in their ability to deliver internet and telephone services.  From 10 AM to 8 PM, internet outages spread from Pensacola to Perdido Key along the Gulf Coast.

Thousands of businesses were disrupted, including Pensacola Government FCU.

Not a problem for Pensacola Government FCU’s CEO, James Phetteplace.  “One of our key Business Continuity / Disaster Recovery requirements is the ability to operate anywhere, even if our office is entirely down.  Along the Gulf Coast, you learn to expect this when we see a major storm – you just don’t know what parts of our infrastructure might go down, and how long it will stay down.”

Pensacola Government FCU adopted a “start from zero” approach – assume zero infrastructure, and start from there.  In addition to remote connectivity to their main office, the credit union established a direct wireless link using readily-available wi-fi technology to connect directly to their core software provider, CU*SOUTH.

“Pensacola Government FCU implemented CU*SOUTH’s RemoteConnect as part of their vendor consolidation strategy earlier this year,” says CU*SOUTH’s CEO Leo Vaulin.  “The moment they connect into our DataCenter at SiteFour in Yankton, South

Dakota, they’re plugged into a national network with seven regional offices, with over 300 specialists supporting over 600 credit unions.  Our CUSO network provides core services, home banking, mobile, text, online loan and member applications, IT hosting and support – and managed services to help CU’s get their work done.”

“It’s tempting to think that remote access via laptop means you’re ready in a disaster situation,” says Tim Kinney, CIO of SiteFour.  “You have to make sure you’re able to access your critical systems even when your main office is down.  With

RemoteConnect, we handle both possibilities.  We provide remote access to the CU so staff can connect from home, or serve members from remote locations.  We also take care of the possibility that nothing at the CU is working, and that laptop is their only way of serving members in a true disaster.”

“It worked just like it did in our DR testing”, says James Phetteplace.  “We immediately set up laptops behind the teller line and connected to CU*SOUTH’s SiteFour

DataCenter with our Verizon wireless equipment.  It really made a difference!   We were able to serve our members at a level that they have been accustomed to receiving.  By 4:45 p.m., everything was posted and balanced and we even closed two loans.”