HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS FOR YOUR BUSINESS

We wanted to take a moment to provide you with a checklist regarding IT hurricane preparedness. Most people know the steps involved in securing their home, cars, and boats. But what about your technology? Here are some tips to make sure when power returns your office is ready to go:

 

  1. At the end of the workday leading up to your storm departure, make sure all workstations and backup batteries are turned off and unplugged.
  2. If you have mission-critical servers (mail, file, etc) that cannot be shut off, please perform battery & generator cutover tests asap to allow time for repairs or replacement if needed.
  3. If you rely on local onsite backups make sure to do a final backup at the end of the day and then take the backup drive to a safe, secure location separate from the servers. If you are interested in offsite cloud backup, please give us a call as soon as possible so we can get you setup and have the data safely away in time.
  4.  If you are in a flood zone, are concerned about the structural integrity of your location including window breaks, or if your building has a sprinkler system that could be activated by structural damage, be sure to cover all electronics with plastic bags and ensure absolutely nothing is sitting on the floor where water will gather.
  5. Be sure to check with your business insurance provider to confirm your coverage and have a copy of your policy on hand. If you have any concerns about coverage for your equipment you might consider having employees take their workstations home and/or to a secure location.
  6. Take pictures and/or video of your office space today (inside and outside) in case of any damages.
  7. Call BMK Media if you have any questions about preparation, restoration after the storm, or business continuity options during the storm if your business cannot tolerate extended outages.

BMK Media Outsourced IT Solutions is fully prepared with generator power and barring any storm related issues we will be on hand for emergency remote support as well as onsite support once roads are safe and clear. 

IMPORTANT: If you have any questions or concerns during or after a storm, please do not hesitate to call us day or night at (954) 256-6570 which is not affected by local phone infrastructure (and is now the primary number to call for all IT issues including emergency support). If we are unable to answer that number directly, leaving a voicemail for technical support automatically opens a ticket and sends us an email with your message attached.

Wishing you safety and good health in the days ahead – see you on the other side!