Disaster Recovery: New Orleans

Officials at every level treat disaster planning as a long-term problem that can be left for another day. But in New Orleans, that day came—on Aug. 29, 2005—as Hurricane Katrina washed away the city.

But over the last six months, New Orleans information technology chief Greg Meffert has been improvising a plan to not only put the Crescent City’s technology infrastructure back together, but to make it better than it was before.

Meffert’s story holds valuable lessons for any chief information officer struggling with disaster planning and recovery.

Story Guide:

IT In Katrina’s Wake

  • What Was Left in Katrina’s Wake
  • New Orleans Had Big IT Plans—Before Katrina
  • Preparing for the Storm
  • Recovery: Some Decisions that Paid Off
  • New Orleans CIO Deals with Political Storms
  • VOIP, Web Portals, Geographic Information Systems All Play a Role in New Orleans’ Recovery

    Other Stories:

  • Mayor Ray Nagin promised to run the city like a business
  • How mobile computing and wireless networks sped post-Katrina housing inspections.
  • Video surveillance let authorities keep a close eye on this year’s Mardi Gras
  • Calculating the cost of a solid disaster recovery plan
  • 4 tips for technology executives looking to expand their roles
  • Vendor Profile: Why New Orleans and others turn for Tropos Networks for their wireless networking needs.
  • BLOG: Baseline’s Kim Nash wonders why almost one-third of all companies don’t have continuity plans

    Question: Why are so many companies not properly prepared for disasters? Tell us what you think: [email protected]