8 Simple Tips to Prepare your Business for Severe Weather

1800 Office SOlutions Team member - Elie Vigile
1800 Team

8 Simple Tips to Prepare your Business for Severe Weather

Inclement weather can affect your business and your technology – and therefore your bottom line. When a storm is barreling towards your location, while there isn’t much you can do to stop a power line from going down, there’s a lot you can do now to save your business and yourself from future headaches and hassles.

Have an Emergency Plan. How will you manage in the event of a weather emergency? Who is responsible for doing what? Can employees work remotely? Discuss your emergency plan with your employees and clearly define expectations. Also, make sure you have an updated list of everyone’s contact numbers.

Battery Backups. If the power goes out, make sure you have uninterruptible power supply (UPS) units attached to your critical electronic devices and computers.

Unplug all Non-Essential Appliances. Unplug all major, non-vital appliances to protect them from power surges.

Physical Protection of Equipment. If you are on the first floor and there’s even a slight chance of any flooding, remove any computers and power cords from the floor. If you’re worried about leaks, protect your electronics with plastic covers or tarps.

Protect Important Paper Documents. Put important papers in watertight containers. If you can duplicate or relocate important contracts, records, and other documents, while still abiding by record-keeping legislation, then do so.

Charge Up. Fully charge cell phones, laptop computers, and other electronics. Similarly, dig up all your backup USB batteries out of your junk drawer and charge them as well. You’ll be glad you did if you lose power.

Backup Files and Servers. Is your data being backed up? Do you test your backups? Your data is absolutely critical to your business. Reliable backups for all your important digital data cannot be emphasized enough. If you need help, contact our experts to manage backups for you.

Be Prepared. The best tip to make sure your business weathers any storm, is to make sure that you’re prepared for the unexpected. You should be testing your backups regularly and have a disaster recovery plan in place. If you haven’t already made the move to the cloud, you should consider it. Not only does moving systems to the cloud eliminate the worry of a disaster wiping out your data at a physical location, but it allows your employees to access data from anywhere and continue working remotely if necessary.

According to the Institute for Business & Home Safety, at least 1 in 4 businesses never reopen after a major disaster. This is because many businesses are not prepared to respond to a disaster. By taking steps to prepare now you’ll be able to help protect your business and lessen the financial ramifications of a disaster should one occur. Need help in creating a backup and disaster recovery plan? Contact us! Our experts will help you protect what you’ve worked so hard to build over the years.

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