Hurricane Irma is fast approaching and I’ve been doing this too long and seen too many businesses crushed by storms. You want to make sure your business is able to communicate during events like these. Here are 5 easy things any small business can do to get prepared.
- Make sure all files are backed up to the cloud geographically diverse from your location. Most vendors allow you to choose where to send your data. Don’t forget to test your back up.
- Update employee contact info including alternate email address, cell phone, home phone, emergency contact information, and address.
- If users are taking home VoIP phones, be sure to temporarily update E911 information.
- If you have a traditional phone line or PBX you’ll want to contact your carrier and forward your number by close of business today. When the hurricane hits, carriers will be flooded with calls and you’ll end up on hold.
- Make sure all employees have remote access to applications critical to their job function i.e. Salesforce, O365, electronic filing systems, VMCloud, RingCentral.
In legal terms it’s called a force majeure. Insurance will cover most of your items but loss of business reimbursements will never be as good as not losing the business in the first place. Larger companies have IT shops to take preventative measures to secure data, intellectual property, and communications during hurricanes. Even those without an IT staff can take these measures to protect their business.