With a huge blizzard descending upon the Northeast here are a few tips to prepare your business’s information technology infrastructure.

Turn off your computers (even better, unplug them)

During storms the loss of power is very common. When the power is eventually restored a power surge can occur damaging electronics. Make sure your employees turn off their desktops and unplug them from the wall if possible. Double check that your network gear is protected by a UPS or power strip. While you are at it, run a battery test on your UPS devices (there should be a button on them for this).

Check and protect your backups

Make sure your last few backups were successful. If you use media for your backup solution (e.g., tapes or other removable media) make sure they are in a safe place just in case disaster strikes (e.g., flooding or other physical disaster). If you have a fireproof safe that should do it. If you use a cloud provider make sure the last backup report was successful. Just a note, you really should be incorporating a cloud solution in your disaster recovery planning. Pricing are reasonable and not having to worry about getting your company up and running after a major event is worth every penny. Wireguided offers a business level cloud backup solution which will allow you to sleep well at night.

Have an updated contact list for your critical employees

Make sure you have an up-to-date list of employee home and mobile numbers if their expertise would be needed in the event of a disaster. Mobile numbers are important because even in the event of power failure (aka no Internet) you can reach the people you need to.

Remote Access

With large storms it is hard to predict when business will resume. Each day your office is closed is productivity (and money) lost. Make sure you have a remote access solution for your business to allow at least some level of work to continue even if all your employees are stuck at home, or on a beach in a much warmer climate.

If you need any assistance Wireguided is always here to help. Our emergency contact number is 781-679-0660, ext 1.

Good luck and stay safe.

-Tim