Hurricane preparedness should start now

With hurricane season underway, now is the time to ensure your business is prepared to recover quickly after a storm. 

2020 broke the record for the most named storms in the Atlantic hurricane season, including five storms making landfall in Louisiana. That is five times that Louisiana businesses risked impact by a hurricane. 

Whether discussing the severity of Hurricane Katrina or the detrimental impact of the 2020 hurricane season, business owners should be able to focus on their families, employees, and customers, not the potential impact a disaster will have on their business. 

That is why General Informatics has made it their job to focus on the disaster for them.

Back up your business

Louisiana hurricanes can potentially impact your business for days, weeks, or permanently. 75% of companies without a good business continuity plan go out of business after a disaster. 

Every organization needs a plan to maintain or get back to normal operations quickly. One of the biggest threats businesses should prepare for is the potential loss of critical data.

A solid backup of your data (client files, accounting info, HR records, etc.) is essential to making sure your business can return to normal operations. Critical data should be backed up offsite or in the Cloud. 

With a cloud solution like General Informatics’ Server 365, your data is stored in secure, high availability, geo-redundant cloud servers. This allows users to access files needed to get back to work in minutes, whether they evacuated or stayed home. 

This step not only reduces operational downtime from a disaster, but allows business owners and employees a sense of ease during an alarming time.

Disaster-proof plan 

Data backups are essential, but it is not the only measure companies should take. Hurricanes or Louisiana tropical storms can cause catastrophic damages to IT hardware. 

Businesses should ensure their servers, network equipment, and PCs are properly protected. Small steps businesses can take include investing in UPS Battery Backups to protect against sudden outages or power surges and keeping all IT equipment at least 18 inches off the ground to prevent water damages.

Now that your data and hardware are protected, you can focus on what matters most to your business, your employees, and clients. Creating an emergency communication plan is essential to stay connected during a hurricane. 

In the immediate aftermath of a large-scale disaster, typical lines of communication can go down. Communication is vital day-to-day, but it is especially important during an emergency. Having an Emergency Communication System allows you to quickly communicate critical information to your entire team. 

This structure will help employees know what is expected of them while allowing employers and employees to communicate any issues.

As a Louisiana based company, General Informatics knows the severity of a hurricane. That is why we focus on the disaster, so you can focus on your business. 

Melanie Eusea has been with General Informatics for 12 years, currently serving as Director of Service and Member of the Strategic Leadership Team, ensuring client excellence.