North Dakota Flood Threat Recedes, But VAR Remains Vigilant

The threat of flooding from the Red River that separates North Dakota and Minnesota has receded -- at least temporarily -- after the water crested lower than expected on Saturday near Fargo, N.D.

North Dakota must remain vigilant for at least a week or so as the water could rise again, bringing a torrent of icy flash flooding to the area. Among those at the ready are Don Fisk, CEO of Insight Technologies, a Grand Forks, N.D.-based solution provider. Fisk, who lives about 80 miles north of Fargo but has a sales office in that city, remembers well a 1997 flash flood that forced him out of his office for more than two weeks. Now he's helping his Fargo customers prepare their businesses in the event they have to move operations out of the area.

"What we've done up to this point, we've talked with those customers that will give us an audience about business continuity. That's what we've been talking about, based on what happened in '97 and what could happen," Fisk said Friday.

Of course, developing a business continuity play must be done proactively, well before a potential disaster occurs. In the short term, Fisk said he's staying in touch with customers, many of whom receive infrastructure services and support from Insight Technologies, a VentureTech Network member.

"We'll call to make sure they're all right. We've offered and may still [last weekend] move servers out of locations to our offices here. We'll plug them right into our network [in Grand Forks]," he said. "You've got to reassure them. As long as they call before the water hits, everything can be alright."

Having a trusted IT adviser gives customers one less problem to worry about, Fisk said.

"From a VAR standpoint, our role is to take care of customers. It disrupts the staff and the employees. They just have to make sure they take care of themselves," he said.

While it appears Fargo may be spared this time, local residents know that flash flooding can occur almost any year. After 1997, Grand Forks built a flood wall seven feet higher than the crest of the 1997 flood. However, Fargo was not breached and did not add extra protection after 1997, Fisk said.

During the 1997 flood, Insight Technologies' evacuation and business continuity were hampered by the fact that Fisk didn't have contact information for employees' relatives. It was a lesson learned that he now stresses with customers, Fisk said.

"In 1997, we evacuated on April 18 and came back on May 4. I operated out of my brother's place 60 miles west of here," Fisk said. "What a lot of us have done since then is make sure we have that information. It's all part of the planning you learn from these things."

Now Insight Technologies is fully prepared to still help customers in the event something does occur, Fisk said. "In '97, [Fargo] didn't have that breach. But they were supportive of Grand Forks. Now it's our turn," he said.