Operational Reliability in Action: Hurricane Sandy

When Hurricane Sandy struck the East Coast of the United States in October 2012, many of the region’s basic systems, from electric grids to public transportation, struggled to recover. Yet our company’s operations continued almost seamlessly, despite damage near three of our main buildings (including our headquarters) that prevented many employees from coming to the office for two weeks.

The first step in assuring business continuity was preparation. Our team had tracked the storm’s progression, readied generators, communicated plans to employees, and moved some critical resources out of the region. When storm damage kept over 4,000 of our employees from their regular offices, Business Continuity, Technology, and Facilities teams quickly made remote resources available. Our cross-regional recovery strategies also leveraged assistance from staff in Europe, India, and around the U.S. These efforts, along with our uniquely secure data center design and advanced mobile network capabilities, allowed us to deliver superior client service without interruption and help protect the stability of global financial markets.

The strength of our business continuity system also meant that we could focus on helping affected communities rebuild. Our company and individual employees donated over $1.5 million to relief agencies and communities (see Strategic Philanthropy, page 45) while providing extensive resources to help our employees in the region recover. The lessons we learned from Hurricane Sandy have since been used to drive new improvements in our business continuity program.