Eliminating downtime for a
mission-critical operation

When phones go down, people get stranded

AAA Northway serves members across seven locations in Upstate New York — Amsterdam, Clifton Park, Plattsburgh, Queensbury, Saratoga Springs, Schenectady, and Vestal. For an organization in the business of helping people in distress, their phone systems are the lifeline connecting stranded motorists with the help they need.

That means AAA Northway can't tolerate downtime. Not for an hour. Not for a minute. Their entire operation depends on always-on communications infrastructure — making reliability, redundancy, and rapid response non-negotiable requirements for any IT partner.

A single point of failure with very real consequences

Like many organizations, AAA Northway had historically hosted all their servers and systems in a central administrative location — a common approach, but one with a critical vulnerability: a single point of failure with no true redundancy.

The Incident

During an extended power outage, AAA Northway's backup uninterruptible power supply (UPS) ran out after 16 hours. When power failed completely, the abrupt shutdown caused significant file corruption across their systems — threatening operations across all seven locations and putting member services at serious risk.

The incident exposed what their on-premises setup could never fully solve: without redundant power, redundant internet feeds, and enterprise-grade data center infrastructure, any prolonged outage would always carry catastrophic risk. The question wasn't whether it would happen again — it was when.

AAA Northway's Managing Director of IT & Security, Mike Dowen, knew the organization needed a permanent solution, not another band-aid.

First: an 8-hour recovery on a holiday weekend. Then: making sure it never happens again.

LogicalNet's response unfolded in two distinct phases — an immediate emergency recovery, followed by a long-term infrastructure transformation.

From single point of failure to enterprise-grade resilience

The transformation from a vulnerable on-premises setup to a fully managed Class A data center environment delivered tangible, lasting improvements across every dimension that matters to AAA Northway's operations.

Redundant Power — Always On Dual power supplies on all servers plus full UPS backup ensure that no single power event can take systems offline again.

Redundant Internet Feeds Multiple independent internet connections eliminate connectivity as a single point of failure — critical for a 7-location operation.

Reliable PBX Phone System AAA Northway's mission-critical phone infrastructure is now hosted in a fully managed environment built for continuous uptime.

Superior Scalability Data center infrastructure scales on demand — AAA Northway can grow without worrying about outgrowing their physical environment.

Enhanced Data Protection Class A facility-grade physical security and environmental controls protect hardware and data 24 hours a day.

A Trusted Long-Term Partnership Mike Dowen has called the LogicalNet team "some of the best people I've ever worked with" — after nearly 30 years in the industry.

Next: elevating cybersecurity to match the infrastructure

With a rock-solid infrastructure foundation now in place, Mike Dowen is looking to the next evolution of his security posture. The focus: ensuring AAA Northway's sensitive member data and operational systems are protected against the growing sophistication of modern cyber threats.

The Next Chapter

LogicalNet and AAA Northway are currently planning the rollout of SentinelOne XDR with SOC/SIEM integration — extending 24/7 threat detection and response across every endpoint in their environment. This will be paired with a comprehensive review of all key security policies and procedures to ensure AAA Northway meets modern compliance and cyber insurance requirements.

SentinelOne XDR 24/7 SOC Monitoring SIEM Integration Policy Review Cyber Insurance Readiness