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Hurricane Matthew came and went earlier this year.

Though the hurricane grazed the edge of North Carolina, the damaging winds and rain took a toll on the east coast. Over 750,000 homes and businesses remained without power and suffered extensive flooding in the weeks after the hurricane hit.

What does this mean for Business Operations?

Businesses in the affected area must consider their technology risks associated with the risk of rising waters.

Consider the following

• Temporary Power Loss
• Extended Power Loss
• Loss of Communication Services
• Data Loss

In the event of Temporary Power Loss- if a business has an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) for a server, the server will continue to have power via the UPS for up to 1 hour. Meaning, so long as the main power comes back within an hour- the server should not skip a beat.

In the event of Extended Power Loss- If a business has extended power loss and the server loses power, there are a couple of factors to consider. First, did the server shut down the proper way? Were there internal policies in place for the machine to follow during shut down? Or did the power just cut and the machine turned off? Second, how do you turn the machine back on? Does your Managed Service Provider have the ability to restart the computer remotely? Or does someone from your team have to work with your Managed Service Provider to restart the device by physically traveling to your office location, if possible?

Loss of Communication Services – Essentially phone and internet services. Can your staff call out? This question has more to do with the overall type of phone system that you have in the office. Is it a traditional phone line or is it a voice over IP or VoIP system? Are you able to work with your Managed Service Provider to fix your phones remotely or are you at the mercy of your phone provider? Is your internet provider able to fix connectivity problems?

Data Loss- The most important factor is to prepare for Data Loss.
Did flood waters get into your server closet? Did an electrical surge fry your equipment? Did you have some kind of data backup in place for this specific instance? Whether you choose to have a file based backup of your system or an image based backup of your system, if the business has to complete a total restore of the server a backup of some sort is a must.

If you escaped this storm untouched- let these 4 types of situations be a warning for you.

Here are a couple things you can do to help protect your business.

First- Implement a backup solution. There are many types of backup services and solutions. Consult with a trusted MSP for what would be best for your network. If you already have a backup, review what is being backed up. Most of the time, the server is the only device being backed up. Individual workstations are not. Implement office policies for your team to save files on the server to ensure they are being covered.

Second- Have a UPS in your server closet. It is essentially a mini generator that catches and supports your network when power slips.

Third- Work with a Managed Service Provider. From October 8th through the morning of October 10th, we received a number of alerts regarding our managed client’s networks. The key word here is managed. Due to the type of agreement we have with these clients, we had monitoring services in place to send alerts when a client’s site was down. This alert also carries additional information for our technicians to use when fixing the issue.

If you have any questions about a Business Continuity Plan or any of the above items, reach out to us! IRIS Solutions is here to help.