Is Your Organization Prepared for a Natural Disaster?

Hurricane season can be a terrifying time for business owners; those in at-risk climates can never feel safe from these types of unpredictable and catastrophic disasters. In particular, those who aren’t prepared to face this destruction are in significant danger of having their businesses ended for good following a disaster event like a hurricane. Let's help you make sure your organization doesn’t suffer this same fate the next time a disaster occurs.

Do Your Research
All disaster scenarios demand that you’re prepared with a business continuity plan, but the degree to which a company is vulnerable to a natural disaster can vary by geographical location. Not all organizations will be susceptible to hurricanes, for example, but there are countless other scenarios that could complicate things for your organization. The statistics say that 30 percent of all downtime is caused by environmental factors, which includes anything from flooding and hurricanes to a little bit or a lot of humidity or extreme weather.

Thus, it’s up to you to know which risk factors exist for your organization, as well as which systems you can execute to keep them from happening. While it’s not something that seems required, a monitoring system can help you dodge a disaster. Downtime costs alone have risen by 38 percent in only eight years, so you can save yourself a lot of trouble by implementing solutions designed to reduce the effects of hurricanes and other disasters. Hurricanes are only growing larger and more dangerous, so you need to do all you can now while you still have a business to protect.

Plan for the Worst-Case Scenario
The next step is to define what your organization's worst-case scenario looks like and how you can get ready for it. An off-site data backup system plays a pivotal role in making sure this doesn’t happen, as well as having your data stored in multiple locations outside of your office. This keeps your data as safe as possible, as it’s unlikely that a disaster could destroy all copies of your data.

When the worst happens, it’s also critical that you have a plan to keep all of your employees in communication with each other, thus confirming their safety in the event of a hurricane or other disaster. This is also imperative for relaying to your clients that something has happened, so they can expect service to be delayed in the interim. It’s also not a bad idea to have some provisions in your office just in case you find yourself unable to leave.

Finally, be sure that a full shutdown is prepared for in any circumstance. You should have an outline for how to instigate this shutdown, as well as how you can get back in action once the danger has subsided.

Recover from the Disaster
When you have your plan fully outlined, you’ll need to ensure that the disaster will only have a small influence on your organization’s operations. You can provide your employees the tools to work remotely so they can stay productive during the time your office isn’t functional. You can also make sure that your office is equipped with tools to keep damage internally to a minimum, including water pumps to keep flooding at bay. As far as your data goes, Macro Systems can help with data backup and disaster recovery. To learn more, reach out to us at 703-359-9211.