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How To Prepare Your Workplace For A Hurricane

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August 10, 2018/in Disaster Recovery, ReadyVault /by Sarah McCusker
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Here in New England, we are no strangers to wild and unpredictable weather. Protecting your business against natural disasters is a year-round responsibility. For some of us, readiness ramps up to a whole new level during hurricane season. Headquartered in Massachusetts, Braver Technology Solutions understands firsthand how extreme weather conditions can impact every area of your business. That’s why we have put together this hurricane preparedness guide and checklist to help to prepare, and protect, your business during hurricane season. Think of it as the starting place for creating your own custom disaster recovery plan.  
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Clearly, this office did not create a disaster recovery plan before hurricane season…

via GIPHY

Plan & Protect

Awareness is the key to preparedness, so identifying departments and employees responsible for leadership during an emergency ensures everyone knows the chain of command. When you take a team approach to create a disaster recovery plan, you help streamline the recovery process. 

Even with on-site backups, a storm could spell disaster for your business. Without the benefits of offsite or cloud backup solutions, you could risk a loss of productivity and profits if your onsite data is compromised. How long could your company survive without its data? 

• Evaluate and update plans on a regular basis, particularly as your business grows or changes  
• Know the evacuation level of your offices, and pre-determine at what point you will no longer allow employees on site  
• Keep employee morale in mind, as fear and stress levels will likely be high. Assure them you have their best interest at heart, while also working to protect the business and their employment

Clear Communication

If working remotely is an option for your business, we suggest training your employees to do so. This not only allows you to be there when your clients need you but lets your employees work from a safe location. We recommend using a secure SSL VPN server for remoting into your business network, as well as a VOIP service for anywhere anytime communication and phone service. During a storm, you can’t always rely on your landline, so using a disaster-proof phone system like CleanVoice is your best bet. 

• Maintain an updated contact list for all your employees, vendors, and customers.  
• Lean toward overcommunication to avoid messages being missed. Remember, this will be a hectic time for everyone.  
• Develop a detailed strategy for letting customers and vendors know what they can expect from you during and after an emergency event.  
• While your world may feel upside down, business will be going on as usual elsewhere, so make prior arrangements for potentially missed deadlines

Prepare A Disaster Recovery Plan

Offsite backups are essential for disaster preparedness. Backing up files within your data center is a good precaution against computer failure, but it does nothing if the entire data center is damaged by a hurricane. Many offsite backup services are available that can securely store your business’s data, offering various levels of industry-specific regulatory compliance. Backing up files within your data center is a good precaution against computer failure, but it does nothing if the entire data center is damaged by a hurricane. 

• Actively verify and monitor your backups.  
• Check your restoration of data.  
• Keep local backups safe 
• Ensure that Offsite or Cloud backups are functioning  
• Test your recovery plans  

If You Need It, Ask for Help!

Many factors must be considered when preparing your business’ IT network for a hurricane, but our main piece of advice is this: expect the worst-case scenario but hope for the best. You’ve never heard of anyone wishing they hadn’t over prepared for a hurricane.   

Is your workplace prepared for hurricane season? Download our 2018 Hurricane Season Checklist to find out, or contact us for help on creating a disaster recovery plan for your business.  
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