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Last year, we were fully focused as an organization on improvements to the stability and security of Floriday. This is an important theme this year too. The use of Floriday is increasing every month and the platform is under continual development. We discuss this with André van der Linden (CIO for Royal FloraHolland) and Jeroen Huis (implementation consultant Floriday): “With Floriday, we are taking huge strides in digitisation. The growth of the platform also entails a dependence on IT for an increasing number of users. We are therefore focusing day and night on the continuous availability and security of Floriday.”
Floriday uses several virtual data centres, as a result of which we are not dependent on one data centre. Floriday is structured in such a way that if one component or service breaks down, the other components will continue to work. In addition to this, we make backups, so that in the event of an emergency we can recover data and the service can be restored quickly. Aside from that, we constantly monitor our data flows so that we can intervene rapidly in the event of an incident. “This approach allows us to find quick solutions and limit the impact of any disruption”, says André. “Regular, planned maintenance is vital to ensure users always have the most up-to-date versions of our software, with a view to the availability, security and stability of the platform. We can also prevent security leaks in this way.”
How are users informed about planned maintenance?
Jeroen states that we always try to inform users well in advance of planned maintenance. “We do this by email, via a note on our status page and a banner in Floriday. We ensure that users know exactly which functions will be temporarily offline and how long this will last. In addition to growers and buyers, the software suppliers are informed of this right from the start.”
What can you expect from us in the event of disruptions?
André: “The more we digitalise, the greater the dependence on IT becomes. We want to be a stable and reliable platform by making the right choices in our policy in this regard. Nevertheless, we know that things can go wrong due to both technical and human causes. The aim is therefore to detect any problems quickly and resolve them as soon as possible. We therefore learn from every incident so that they can be prevented in the future.”
As well as being an implementation consultant, Jeroen is also one of Floriday’s disruption coordinators. He is ready 24/7 in the event of a disruption in Floriday. “There is nothing quite so annoying as not being able to access the functions you need for daily trading in flowers and plants. As a disruption coordinator, I aim to work with our technical team to ensure issues are resolved as quickly as possible. You can expect that any disruptions will immediately be on our radar and that we will quickly give users clarity about what is not currently working (or only partially working) as a result of the problems. And, if necessary, we will communicate a timeline for when the functions will become available and when the problem is resolved. This includes growers and buyers, as well as the software suppliers.” We also learn lessons from each disruption: “A disruption will be discussed in depth with the relevant persons, and these sessions will be followed up by an action list with points that we can improve so that the chance of the same disruption occurring is considerably smaller. In addition, growers and buyers that have encountered problems will be called by our support department as soon as the disruption has been resolved.”
What can you do with respect to planned maintenance and contributing towards a stable platform?
It is important to keep pace with digitisation and create security within your own company. You must take your own responsibilities in this context and install updates on time. When it comes to ICT, think about creating a backup on the basis of the following tips that you can set to work on immediately:
- Make sure that all PCs and software are up to date with the most recent versions. This applies to Floriday but also updates to your browsers.
- Each Floriday user should work in their own account and keep passwords private.
- Make sure there is a reserve PC or work via your mobile or tablet.
- Have a backup plan in place, if your internet is not available. Do you have a second internet connection, for example, or could you create a hotspot?
As a user, where can you find more information?
Once a disruption or incident takes place, a report will be placed on the platform so that users are immediately informed that we are aware of the issue and are looking for a solution. The status of a disruption or planned maintenance will be provided via the following channels:
- https://status.floriday.com/en
- Via a banner or chat in the Floriday platform and/or the website.
- Via communication from the software supplier/in the ERP software
- Malfunctions and planned maintenance page of Royal FloraHolland
- Experiencing any problems when using Floriday? Please contact our supportteam