In preparation for the impending weather, we recommend our clients take some of the following precautionary measures:

Before the Storm

• Keep all of your devices fully charged (laptops, phones, tablets, additional chargers, etc)
• Charge any external battery chargers to full power
• Review your emergency plan and update contact information for employees.
• Set up a company-wide communications channel or chat (Slack, Teams, GroupMe, Hangouts, Text Messages, etc)
• Move equipment off the ground (move computers off the ground and onto a desk or counter)
• Important documents or files should be moved off the ground, scanned to a file and backed up in the cloud
• Document asset information like serial numbers, asset tags, support and warranty information
• Review your company’s disaster recovery and business continuity plans 

During the Storm

• Use cellular data or mobile hotspots if power is out
• Conserve battery usage by turning off Bluetooth or wireless connectivity if power is out
• Charge your devices via an external battery charger, by solar power or in your car
• Unplug non-essential devices if power is out

Server Backups

• Verify full backups have been completed in advance of any outages or issues
• Files should be backed up using 3-2-1 methodology (Offsite/Cloud backups are ideal)
• Bring local backups (external hard drives, etc.) offsite when leaving if possible

Phone System

• Is your phone system on-premise, VoIP, or in the cloud? Adjust accordingly
• Update your company phone system greeting
• Do you need to set roll-over groups, change the voicemail message or set call-forwarding?

Power

• Battery Backup (BB) units or Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS) maintain electrical loads for a limited time
• Do your best to allow for the graceful shutdown of networking equipment and servers during an unexpected power loss
• Use Surge Protectors 

Internet

• Backup/failover internet connections and service
• Use cellular data or mobile hotspots if possible 

Schedule Equipment Shutdowns

• Desktops, servers, and other networking equipment should be shut down if power outages or surges are expected
• Have employees turn off and unplug workstations to be safe (Shutting down servers or networking equipment can prevent remotely accessing files or servers.)
• Call ITinspired to schedule your equipment shutdown for your business. If you know you will not be operating onsite during inclement weather or extended outages, our staff can assist in preparing your business for continued operations after the storm.

If you have any questions about preparing for weather, reach out to our team to learn more!