# Ascend Checked Florida Plant Backups as Hurricane Approached

By Simon Yoon

Canonical URL: https://www.tokenpost.com/news/technology/42986
Published: 2026-10-28T21:43:53.000Z
Updated: 2026-10-28T21:43:53.000Z
Section: Technology

> Ascend’s IT vice president described local backups and recovery checks for older systems. He named no AI deployment at the company.

As a hurricane neared, Ascend assessed backup and recovery readiness at one of its Florida plants while its IT team considers how to make the company’s data more useful.

Xiong Xiong, Ascend’s vice president of IT, said the company’s recovery process includes local backups, transfers to a recovery site and isolated recovery checks for older systems. He said Ascend had struggled with nightly backups and moving them to a recovery site before expanding its relationship with Dell.

Xiong described Ascend as “very, very data-rich [and] information-poor, and we’re changing that.” He said Ascend wants suppliers to build AI defenses into their products, but named no AI system or application in use at the company.

Dell’s Oct. 27 announcement included Xiong’s general endorsement of its role in strengthening Ascend’s backup and recovery capabilities. The announcement did not say Ascend uses Dell’s newly announced AI recovery planning service. The interview was part of a Dell-sponsored segment.