DSD COVID-19 Update: FAQ and Virus Mitigation Plan
As the news about coronavirus (COVID-19) reverberates throughout the world, the health and safety of our customers, employees, vendors and associates are top of mind amid concerns about the spread of the disease.
As a critical partner to thousands of businesses throughout North America, we at DSD understand the importance of communicating our plans to operate safely and effectively. The health and safety of our clients, employees, vendors, associates and community is always our top priority.
Therefore, we are monitoring both the outbreak progression and recommended preventative measures closely to be able to adapt our processes accordingly and continue to offer excellent service and support to our clients amidst this global health event.
Frequently Asked Questions
(Provided by the Center for Disease Control)
What is COVID-19 (aka coronavirus disease 2019)?
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a respiratory illness that can spread from person to person. The virus that causes COVID-19 is a novel coronavirus that was first identified during an investigation into an outbreak in Wuhan, China.
How does COVID-19 spread?
The virus that causes COVID-19 probably emerged from an animal source, but is now spreading from person to person. The virus is thought to spread mainly between people who are in close contact with one another (within about 6 feet) through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes.
It also may be possible that a person can get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes, but this is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads. Learn what is known about the transmission of newly emerged coronaviruses from the Centers for Disease Control.
DSD Virus Mitigation Plan
We have been monitoring COVID-19 developments closely through local authorities nearest our HQ and regional offices, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization daily. It’s our priority to mitigate the technological, environmental and health risks that may compromise the established practices used to provide world class consulting services to our clients.
DSD is committed to keeping operations running smoothly, deploying preventative measures internally and providing our clients with excellent service and support while remaining cognizant of this global outbreak.
Security, safety and well-being is integral to our products, business processes and infrastructure so we have a well-established plan in place to keep our operations running smoothly and continue to provide our clients and community with the best possible service.
The DSD Virus Mitigation plan includes:
- Equipping employees and associates with remote work tools throughout the organization.
- Deploying a fully remote support service strategy for all product lines.
- Encouraging use of telephone and video conferencing instead of face-to-face meetings.
- Providing associates with information and best practices to prevent the spread of any illness.
- Coordinating on-going communication with associates, clients and vendors.
- Limiting all non-essential business travel and on-site visits
(both DSD on-site to client facility AND DSD office visits)
Best Business Practices
We understand the concern and uncertainty you may be experiencing surrounding the coronavirus (COVID-19) and we are committed to being responsive to the needs of our clients and partners as the situation evolves.
We strongly encourage clients and vendors to deploy the CDC’s recommended workplace safety measures and to use the DSD website for submitting support tickets and/or contacting various departments within the organization.
From a data security standpoint, please be aware of COVID-19 related Cyber Attack Activity. Unfortunately, we have already heard reports of phishing emails circulating that are impersonating the CDC and Health Care Providers, so please be aware of this security risk to your data. If you receive anything that looks suspicious, please let us know.
We will continue to monitor any changes in guidelines issued by the CDC, WHO and local public health authorities. For now, our thoughts are with all those affected by the coronavirus and we will be doing all we can to halt the progression.
As always, we will be here to serve and support you and your business.
Please do not hesitate to contacts with any questions.
