Our entire organization is closely watching what is happening in Ukraine. As a global technology organization with employees worldwide, it’s egregious to see these types of actions towards others unfold before our eyes. As this invasion escalates, we have also witnessed an attack on the digital front as cyberattacks hit networks and a colossal rise in disinformation campaigns ravish headlines.
As of late, we are fielding several questions about aspects of our business operations and our work. I decided to thwart any concerns and answer questions; creating a brief summary about these questions makes the most sense.
WebPros is a global organization with many companies and worldwide employees, including Ukraine, Russia, and eastern Europe. We also have employees of both Ukrainian and Russian origin working in various other locations, including western Europe and the United States.
As we have seen before in other conflicts, we witness the camaraderie, compassion, and care our employees have for one another, regardless of what passport they hold or in which country they were born. Each day brings an opportunity for us as individuals to be better stewards towards one another, and often, during these challenging times, is when you see these small acts of kindness at their greatest. One person asking if they can open their home to those that need a haven, another offering to take on the workload of those in danger. It is these moments amid darkness, that light persists.
Like most global organizations, WebPros group of companies is first and foremost devoted to the safety and protection of all its employees. Most importantly, right now, for our employees in Ukraine. We have an incredible team who are in-touch daily with our Ukraine employees and their families, who have remained in Ukraine, needed to flee, or find safe refuge.
Our efforts also include assisting our Russian employees, who did not start this war. These individuals should not face persecution and discrimination, regardless of if they are physically inside or outside their home country, due to decisions made by us as their employer, to protect others, or because of the choices of a government; they do not have control. As an organization with employees in many countries, some of which may border conflict areas, we are committed to ensuring the safe protection of all our people. We are attentively monitoring situations and committed to swift action should the need arise.
WebPros is committed to providing humanitarian relief when a crisis arises. In early March, we donated to a local Swiss Humanitarian Program with a deep network to assist in delivering food, clothing, medical, and hygiene products to those in dire need in Ukraine. To continue our efforts, WebPros along with our Cloudfest community friends are donating to help children and families in Ukraine. WebPros is pledging $ 10,000 and offering a 2:1 match to double employee donations.
As of early March 2022, we have/are:
- Indefinitely pausing all new online sales in Russia
- Suspending licenses for Russian users
- Complying with all restrictions and regulations
- Donated CHF 10,000 to Swiss Foundation to support aid in Ukraine
- Donating $ 10,000 to Cloudfest 2022 charity to assist in aiding the people of Ukraine with a 2:1 employee match on donations
We are also hyper-focused on ensuring we have the proper security measures for our customers, partners, resellers, and vendors. Even before situations escalated abroad, we began implementing additional safeguards and added security enhancements to our network and application layers. As many of you know, cyberattacks have been an active part of digital warfare for over a decade and will continue to be as technology advances across the globe. As we have always been, we are constantly monitoring our networks and infrastructure to reduce the risk of cyber events. We have controls to detect and respond at multiple levels.
As we look forward, it is evident that technology will continue to evolve and play a vital part in our future. Like many of you, we wish for a swift end to this unnecessary calamity unfolding before us all; we desire a reclamation of peace, respect for Ukraine’s sovereignty, and safeguard for its people.
~ Christian Koch