SALT LAKE CITY – September 6, 2007 – Consonus, a leading data center and managed services provider, received two awards from the Utah Division of Homeland Security and Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce on Friday, August 24, at the state’s third annual Ready Your Business conference. The conference was held at the downtown Hilton in Salt Lake City, where 450 business representatives gathered to learn how to prepare and protect their organizations from potential loss as a result of natural (or man-made) disaster.
The awards were presented by local government officials, including Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, Jr., Commissioner Scott Duncan of the Department of Public Safety, Director Mike Kuehn and Deputy Director Jeff Graviet of the Division of Homeland Security, and Craig Peterson, COO of the Salt Lake Chamber.
Consonus was recognized for its role as a Partner in Preparedness, assisting the Division of Homeland Security in several community awareness activities throughout the year, including organizing and attending various business continuity workshops and co-sponsoring the Ready Your Business conference.
According to director Renee Murphy, the Ready Your Business program is a no-cost workshop series dedicated to assisting Utah's private sector in developing their business continuity plans. The program was created as a "how-to" resource for companies with little or no experience, or as an enhancement to existing emergency planning.
“Consonus was one of a handful of partners who contributed generously as in-kind and monetary sponsors to promote workplace readiness through our workshop series and annual conference,” says Murphy. “It is clear they take these efforts very seriously and are committed to helping other businesses safeguard their resources from potential disaster.”
Consonus’ director of operations, Keith Evans, also received a Recognition of Readiness award for completing the “12-Point Program to Business Continuity Planning” workshop series. Evans put countless hours into completing the workshops, but insists it was a small sacrifice, considering the potential damage this information can help businesses avoid.
“The program is an excellent tool to prepare any type or size of business,” says Evans. “Without a plan to address these concerns, organizations could lose precious resources, from employees to data, and could even end up closing their doors. At Consonus, we take every effort to make sure our company and our clients are as safe as possible, and that we have plans in place to minimize business disruption.”
The Ready Your Business program provides expert information on a variety of topics such as business impact analysis, safeguarding vital records, employee evacuation and training, emergency management, and more. Visit http://beready.utah.gov/business.html for more information.