Protect Your Fort Lauderdale Organization From Power Outages
What happens to your business when the lights go out? With Florida leading the country in power outages, it’s vital that you have plans in place to protect your business.
Having the power blink for an instant while you’re working on an important document can be frustrating, but that is nothing compared to the business disruption that you can expect with an extensive and extended power outage. Florida is a stunning state with plenty of sunshine, beaches and gorgeous weather. Unfortunately, this weather can change in an instant, and the coastlines are particularly vulnerable to extreme weather conditions. According to a recent study by the Eaton Corporation, Florida residents experience more power outages than any other state in the nation, and this can have a detrimental impact on businesses in this southern state. Proactive business continuity planning can mean the difference between a slight hiccup that can be overcome and a true business disaster.
Basics of Business Continuity Planning
Do you have a plan in place for exactly what happens when your business experiences a temporary power outage? What about a longer-term event, such as a hurricane with extended high winds and dangerous conditions? Business machines need a reliable source of power and connectivity to maintain smooth operations. While your Florida business may be without power, the chances are good that the rest of the country still expects to be able to reach your website and access their customer data on any external customer-facing sites. Business continuity planning helps ensure that you have regional backups and redundancies in place that allow for rollover in the event of a local power outage.
However, business continuity is not just about keeping your website going if the power’s out. Business continuity plans also address a range of business functions that need to be maintained for either a short or long period in the event of an incident. This could include:
- Telecommunications systems that allow customer service representatives to set up operations from a safer location
- Business systems and databases that allow for remote access with a higher level of security
- Servers with regional redundancies and timed data backups
- Communication plans that ensure your customers, vendors and staff know the actions to take in the event of a disaster or extended power outage
- Full listing of business processes, and the acceptable amount of time that each can be down as well as the priority order for restoration of access
- Facilities planning in case primary or secondary locations are rendered inaccessible
These are all components of a proactive and successful business continuity plan.
How Cloud Solutions Improve Business Continuity Plans
It’s difficult to consider that only a decade or so ago, businesses could quickly go under without a solid backup plan in place. Outages can cost thousands of dollars per hour — or hundreds of thousands per hour for large businesses. Many businesses are protected at least with a minimal level of data recovery, but this should be considered a very entry-level portion of your full business continuity plan. When you have access to enterprise-scale cloud solutions for business continuity, you can be confident that your business is protected even in the event of hurricanes or other natural disasters.
Power outages and other disasters can quickly take a toll on your business without the proper planning. When you work with the professionals at Palindrome Consulting, you’ll find that we understand the challenges faced by Florida businesses. Our technology experts are well-versed in business continuity solutions, allowing our team to help support your business in the event of an incident. Contact us today at 786-634-2638 or fill out our form online to schedule your free network assessment. You can also find a wealth of valuable resources on FEMA’s community section, such as a Ready Business Power Outage Toolkit.