Murrieta Company Aids Japanese Companies Still Reeling From Disaster

The record 9.0 earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan continues to wreak havoc on its business community and many of the citizens it services. 

Software developer, Rectiphy Corp., based in Murrieta, and its parent company NetJapan, immediately reacted to the aftermath with aid for companies trying to fend off data loss to help keep their businesses afloat. Now the company plans to dedicate a portion of the proceeds from its upgraded software, released April 6, to the American Red Cross Japan tsunami relief fund.

Rectiphy recognized a gap in aid that many may overlook addressing for the ailing Japanese business community, said Doug Taylor, a spokesman for the company. Preserving digital information is critical to a business’ survival, he said.

Rectiphy has offered free downloads of its ActiveImage Protector (AIP) software, which allows a person to back up and restore systems.

Since the earthquake struck, Japanese companies have been afflicted with aftershocks and sudden black outs. Warnings of a looming nuclear crisis at nuclear facilities have complicated the situation further, raising the risk of imminent evacuation, which could potentially leave data unprotected, Taylor said.

“ActiveImage Protector IT Pro Edition lets an IT person backup their data from one machine and move it to a new location if required, away from the damage area. It is also useful for backups where hardware may have been damaged,” Taylor said.

“They have rolling blackouts which could cause data loss or the need to move data to a more reliable area. Citizens are using this program too. In particular they may need to move to a new location. With AIP they can bring their data instead of the entire system.”

Since the earthquake, the company has distributed more than 500 free downloads of its AIP IT Pro Edition software. 

Jun Yamazaki is vice president of sales and marketing for NetJapan and works out of the company’s Tokyo office. Yamazaki painted the aftermath of the earthquake as a chaotic chain of events making it difficult to conduct business. At a certain point, after metropolitan trains and subways were halted, the government announced sudden blackouts would occur in some areas. Many couldn’t communicate since most cell phone networks were down.

Because roads were clogged with commuters, some employees had to walk for two to seven hours to get home. About 24 percent of employees stayed at the office overnight.

As the disaster unraveled, NetJapan came up with the idea to give away the AIP software.

“Under threat of aftershock, nuclear crisis and blackout, we had officers meeting by phone conference, and discuss what we can contribute against such disaster situation and we decided to provide AIP IT Pro edition at free for all companies and individuals in Japan as disaster prevention,” Yamazaki said.

Monetary donations from the Riverside County business community have been low compared with individual donations, a normal trend for the area, said Lois Beckman, a development officer for the American Red Cross Riverside County Chapter. Companies not based in Riverside County could be making donations from their headquarters, she added.

“In Riverside County we’ve taken in about $81,450 locally, that has been mostly from individuals. This doesn’t account for all of the money raised from Riverside County, as often people give directly to our national headquarters,” Beckman said.

Though times are tough and many businesses may be strapped for cash, Rectiphy is an example of a business doing what it can to help without necessarily dipping into its wallet, Beckman said.

“I think anything that companies and individuals can do to reach out to the people and businesses in Japan is good.  It’s also a good time for local businesses and individuals to assess their own level of preparedness.  Do they have emergency supplies on hand? Do they have a plan?” Beckman added.

Following the demand for the free download of AIP software, Rectiphy is now focusing on what amount of proceeds from the sales of its upgraded AIP software the company will donate to the American Red Cross, Taylor said.

“Rectiphy and NetJapan are in the disaster recovery software market so it is important that we help where we can. We can't profit from a disaster because the software typically would have been needed before the problem. But we plan to offer similar specials if other disasters occur," he said.