Squiz support: Being there when it matters

Why our support matters

Many of our customers serve as critical information sources for hundreds of thousands of citizens globally. Government agencies, energy providers, travel providers and essential services rely on our platforms to communicate urgent updates – both day to day and especially during emergencies – whether that's via their website, portal or app.

During emergencies, what was once just a source of information becomes a critical lifeline. Think about your local government website during Covid. How many times did you check for the latest advice? And how confused would you be if you couldn't access these services?

These are precisely the moments when digital services face their greatest challenges:

• Sudden traffic surges can overwhelm servers as thousands of visitors simultaneously seek information
• Power outages from storms or natural disasters can impact network infrastructure
• Flooding or physical damage can affect data centers
• Emergency information needs to be updated instantly, putting strain on content management systems

Users expect services to be available and performant 24/7. They’re not thinking about how these same emergencies might affect the digital infrastructure they're relying on.

When people need information about power outages, evacuation routes, or emergency services, they expect our customers' digital experiences to be there – functioning as normal regardless of the circumstances.

Our approach to client support

That's why we think it's important to take a proactive approach to supporting customers. To anticipate challenges BEFORE they impact our customers and do the work to ensure services run smoothly during any major event.

When challenges arise, we bring together different teams from across the business. We’re talking system administrators, developers, analysts, cloud engineering specialists… you name it. This helps us to brainstorm potential issues from all angles.

We understand that behind every digital service are real people relying on that information – sometimes in critical situations. Our teams recognize that the platforms we support don't just serve our customers but extend to their users as well. So we like to do anything we can to ensure vital services stay online and performant to those in need.

Support in action: The Queensland cyclone response

In March, when a cyclone affected parts of Australia, our teams quickly mobilized to support potentially affected customers.

We didn't wait for customers to tell us they needed support. We already knew there was a massive event taking place and that we needed to help.

In response to this major event, we took the following critical steps:

1. Identified potentially impacted customers
2. Created a client watch list of key customers to perform specific site checks on
3. Developed scripts for hourly system monitoring
4. Engaged with customers where improvements could be made to lower the risk of site performance issues
5. Ensured we had extra 24/7 support staff for heightened monitoring and hourly checks

Maintained open communication channels through support tickets and direct lines with impacted customers

For organizations providing critical information during emergencies, we worked directly to optimize site performance.

During the period that the cyclone had its biggest impact – Friday 7th March until Monday 10th March – one customer had 207.3M requests.

For context, a "normal pre-cyclone" load would see something around 5.7M requests.

This graph also shows the number of requests (per 12 hrs) from January 31st 2025 to March 10th 2025

This customer’s traffic load also jumped dramatically from normal levels (under 17) to 150, then quickly to 250 – requiring immediate attention to maintain service availability.

Recognizing the importance of these services, we also suspended scheduled global Squiz DXP maintenance to remove the risk of services being unavailable.

One of our customers got in touch during the event…

“I wanted to extend my heartfelt thanks for your invaluable support throughout our power restoration event. Your dedication and expertise played a crucial role in ensuring that we could provide valuable information to our affected communities. 

While this is event ongoing; your efforts have not gone unnoticed, and we deeply appreciate the commitment and hard work that your team has demonstrated. We look forward to continuing our successful partnership and achieving even greater milestones together. Once again, thank you for your exceptional support and dedication.”

The people behind the partnership

We believe it's the dedication of Team Squiz that truly sets our support apart. Our people work tirelessly behind the scenes – monitoring systems, crafting specialized scripts, and maintaining high alert during critical events. This approach comes from a place of care, not simply a necessity.

A huge shoutout to our support team for their continued hard work (you know who you are!)

Take a look at other ways we're supporting our clients here.