Cyclone Michaung: Chennai SaaS firms take precautions to keep business running, announce WFH for employees

From announcing work-from-home (WFH) arrangements for employees to putting together business continuity plans, Chennai-based Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) firms including Zoho and Freshworks are taking precautions to keep the business running as the city witnessed its worst rainfall leading to a cyclone condition.

Apart from flooding, the incessant rainfall has caused power outages in the city, which could disrupt the day-to-day operations of these software firms.

“Except for a few people in critical business continuity roles, the rest of the employees have been asked to work from home. They can also avail leave and work on another day, depending on their situation,” a top executive of the SaaS firm Zoho told  Moneycontrol.

Similarly, SaaS major Freshworks has also told employees to work from home till the situation eases.

“We received a mail from our human resource manager that we can work from home and we are even given options to take leaves if there is no electricity or for any other emergencies,” a Freshworks employee said on the condition of anonymity.

Chennai and the neighbouring districts have witnessed heavy downpours for the past 18 hours which started on December 3.

The Tamil Nadu government, on December 4, announced the closure of educational institutions, government offices, and banks in Chennai, Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram, and Chengalpattu districts on December 5. This decision was made due to the continued heavy rainfall in Chennai and nearby districts caused by Cyclone 'Michaung'.

“We were asked to stay at home and continue with our projects, offices are still open for core operations, however, it seemed impossible for even the core team to travel as it is flooding outside,” said an employee of a top SaaS firm requesting anonymity.

Similarly, firms like KissFlow and SuperOps have also asked employees to work from home.

Business continuity plans in place

"So far the business is running as usual and we have asked employees to work from home and, if the situation continues it is going to be tough. We have asked US teams to take some roles", said Arvind Parthiban, founder of AI SaaS firm SuperOps based in Chennai and the US.

Zoho has also prepared a business continuity plan which includes shifting some operations from Chennai to other regions within Tamil Nadu and outside India.

“A core team has developed a business continuity plan to ensure critical services are not hampered, and to handle things if the situation worsens,” Zoho’s executive told Moneycontrol.