Oakland and Macomb working to restore Macomb's computer network

Oakland and Macomb County information technology staff are collaborating to help restore computer and networking services to Macomb County that were damaged by last week's fire in Macomb County's former administration building. Oakland County has opened up its data center to host Macomb County's equipment and personnel on a temporary basis in order to get Macomb County back online. Among the work accomplished over the weekend in Oakland County's data center includes: * Macomb County began staging its server equipment. * A temporary remote operations center was created for Macomb County IT personnel. * The capacity of the CLEMIS fiber line to the Macomb County Sheriff's Office was expanded by a factor of 10 so that it may be used to get other Macomb County offices in downtown Mt. Clemens back on line. * Oakland County IT staff worked with AT&T to ensure delivery of 50 cell phones to Macomb County Monday to help restore communications. Oakland and Macomb County personnel will continue to work together throughout the week to get Macomb County government back online. "IT staffs from both counties are doing their best to put Macomb back in business ASAP," Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson said. "I'm sure they would do the same for us. It's what neighbors do." In addition, Patterson praised the efforts of those employees who gave up their weekend to help Macomb County. "Kudos to both Oakland and Macomb's IT staffs for their outstanding work. They worked diligently around the clock all weekend making significant progress toward getting Macomb back online," Patterson said. Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel agreed. "Our people and their people have literally been working around the clock and to get us back up and running. Oakland will provide technological pathways to help us restore operations. We are also working with Macomb Community College (MCC) to serve as the temporary backup site," Hackel said. Macomb County is building a new communications center at the Macomb County Department of Roads complex. The old county building would have served as a backup for that site under the county's original plan. Once the new center is operational, the permanent backup will be MCC. Helping to coordinate the collaboration between the two counties is Macomb County's Director of IT Sandy Jurek. Before joining Macomb County, Jurek was a 10-year contractor with Oakland County's IT Department. Her familiarity with both counties accounts in part for the success of the operation. Oakland County is expected to host Macomb County IT for two to four weeks or longer while Macomb works to restore computer and network operations on a permanent basis. Published: Wed, Apr 24, 2013