Francisco Sales, Director of LATAM Services at Vertiv, praises the contribution of ‘superheroes’ working in data centers to support vital critical business processes throughout the pandemic.
As the COVID-19 pandemic forced companies to operate remotely and customers to migrate to digital transactions and activities, from banking, shopping and education to healthcare, staff members in data centers and other mission-critical facilities became essential workers.
They risked getting infected by going to work to keep business going, thus joining the ranks of other ‘superheroes’ of the pandemic.
Like many others in the critical data center industry, Vertiv was declared an essential service provider by the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and our team members were deemed essential workers due to our mission-critical solutions that help keep data centers, telecommunications and other critical infrastructure running.
In my 35 plus years of serving mission-critical clients and providing essential service solutions, I can’t recall a time when these essential workers were under such pressure but were also recognized for their contributions to Business Continuity.
Drawing from the principles of another superhero, Vertiv recognized that ‘with great power comes great responsibility.’ To protect our workers and clients, we have implemented policies and procedures while continuing to offer quality services.
This means that Vertiv and our partners have had to make changes to ensure safety, such as introducing new solutions and service protocols that reduce, among other risk factors for contagion, the need for field service visits. And when we maintain customer equipment on site, we do our best to employ the same personnel at a specific location to limit risk by controlling the number of individuals entering the environment.
In addition, we have decentralized the locations of Vertiv’s technical teams, utilizing the potential of our employees and external service providers throughout Latin America. Vertiv has 17 branches in Brazil alone and has technicians in 35 local markets in Latin America.
Thanks to a structure that allows us greater proximity to our clients, we have significantly reduced the need to travel to provide assistance and, therefore, the risks of contagion related to visits.
These measures are consistent with the Uptime Institute’s recommendations for minimizing risks in mission-critical facilities, as well as canceling or postponing activities that pose contagion risks or are nonessential.
We have implemented a voluntary quarantine policy so that workers stay home as a preventive measure in case they are unwell or a family member is ill. Under this plan, workers can choose to work from home if their tasks can be carried out remotely.
We have emergency teams worldwide, ready to intervene and take on tasks normally carried out by another person who may become ill or be in voluntary quarantine. Our technicians are prepared to offer support through virtual platforms, when necessary.
Vertiv solutions for remote monitoring and management of mission-critical facilities also allow us to deliver services with less risk.
Although the pandemic has affected nearly every aspect of our professional and personal lives, posing significant challenges in the continuity of the businesses we use every day, we at Vertiv remain committed to meeting those challenges with innovative, mission-critical solutions.
We continue to safely offer the services required by our clients and partners. We recognize that despite the efficient and impactful use of technology, it is employees and service providers who heroically keep things running smoothly and safely.
They help to ensure the connectivity and productivity of hospitals, public services, telecommunications, banks and data centers, among many other sectors, which directly influence business operations and human lives.
Now, thanks to the relief brought by the increased availability of the COVID-19 vaccine, we are even more dependent on our superheroes! Let’s think about the production, storage, shipping and tracking of all vaccines around the world.
Our vaccination centers need data protection and availability 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and once again, our superheroes in the data centers are present to support this mission and vital critical business processes.
We value your commitment and appreciate your service. They are our superheroes, and we will always remember them, even when the challenges of the pandemic are in the past.
