Hurricane Sandy might have taken only days to traverse the Northeast, but the devastation it left in its wake will take weeks and even months to repair. Current estimations have Hurricane Sandy causing up to $30 billion in lost business, the result of power outages, loss of infrastructure, business closures, and other damages.

As I mentioned last week, SHI and our employees were lucky enough to escape the storm mostly unscathed. But we realize that not all businesses in our region–including the New York metropolitan and New Jersey shore areas– were so fortunate. To help the organizations affected by Hurricane Sandy get back on their feet, SHI and our partners will be offering free cloud computing services so public and private organizations can quickly and securely gain access to the applications or IT functions they might have lost in the storm.

Recovery will be long, but giving displaced or affected businesses access to their IT infrastructure will allow them to maintain business continuity while they rebuild.

If your business has been affected by Hurricane Sandy, please contact your SHI Account Executive or email us at cloud@shi.com.

By now, I am sure you have all seen the devastating impact that Hurricane Sandy has had on the East Coast of the United States. As many of you know, SHI’s World Headquarters is located in Somerset, N.J., just north of where the storm made landfall on Monday afternoon.

I am very happy and relieved to report that, along with their families, ALL of the more than 1,000 SHI employees who make their homes in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania made it safely through the storm without injury. Although most are still without power, and some experienced damage to their homes or properties, they are all safe and that is what is most important.

Our thoughts are with those who might not have been so fortunate.

I am very proud of our employees. Because of their personal effort, sacrifice, and ingenuity — and with the full support of their coworkers around the world — SHI is already operating as close to normal as could be expected. Our sales and support staff continue to make every effort to ensure that our customers receive uninterrupted, world-class support through our existing logistical supply network around the globe.

Thank you to everyone who has inquired about our well-being. And as always, thank you to our thousands of customers and partners around the world for your continued support!