The East Coast of the United States was bombarded by not one, but two blizzards, amassing over 50 inches of snow in the Maryland, Virginia, and Washington D.C. areas. The first storm occurred on February 6th, dumping 2-3 feet across the region. A Level 3, State of Emergency was declared throughout the area, which meant only Emergency personnel were required to report for work. The National Guard assisted in the effort to get essential personnel safely to and from work and provided support with accidents and damages associated with the storms. Just three days later, on February 9th, while everyone was still trying to clean up from the first blizzard, a second storm hit, crippling the area. Over 100,000 homes and businesses lost power after the first storm. Uncharacteristically, the federal government closed its doors for 4.5 consecutive days, resulting in a $450 million loss in productivity. Now that the storms have passed, the cost for the cleanup continues to rise. During the storms, state officials were left scrambling since before the storms hit, Maryland and Virginia had already reached their snow removal budget for the season. At the time of this post, the estimation is over $50 million in the Baltimore/Washington Metropolitan area.
While federal officials were left shaking their heads at the loss of revenue, Teltek remained fully operational in a remote state. Thanks to a little preplanning and the implementation of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telecommuting technologies Teltek employees were able to work from the safety of their own homes. This included, remote computer communications, so that each Teltek employee had the same access to all programs and files just as if they were sitting in their office at their own computer. Each employee has an Avaya IP Office VPN Phone, which allows them to answer and transfer calls, and most importantly, remotely fix a customer’s phone system. One of the most notable calls came from the Sykesville – Freedom District Fire Department, where the immense amount of snowfall caused the roof to collapse rendering their business useless. Since Teltek was operational via telecommuting, they were able to respond to their concerns immediately and get technicians onsite quickly to assess the damage and make necessary repairs to their phone system.
For more information about the Sykesville – Freedom District Fire Department roof collapse, click here.
For more information about telecommuting and other services visit www.myteltek.com.
Teltek is a second generation; family owned and operated telecommunications integrator and certified Avaya Business Partner and NEC Dealer. Our knowledgeable staff specializes in current Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), digital, hybrid and key telephone systems in the small to mid-sized market place. We distinguish ourselves by offering one-stop service and bundling a large variety of products and services such as: communications architecture and consulting, unified messaging, mobility solutions, voice and data cabling and local, long distance and internet brokerage services. Serving Maryland, Washington, DC, Virginia, Pennsylvania and other surrounding areas, trust Teltek to coordinate your next phone system repair, cabling project, system installation and office relocation.
Ben Shafer, Marketing Associate
1.866.9.TELTEK
410.552.6580
236 East Main Street
Westminster, Maryland 21157
Tags: Avaya IP Office, blizzard, telecommuting