Snow is Coming! How to Ensure Business Continuity & Resilience

Each year when businesses are hit with heavy snowfall, it reminds us to consider the plans we have in place to ensure business continuity. Having a contingency plan that includes a cloud-based service and a secondary venue from which to work are the keys to remaining operational in the event of being snowed in. 

Here Are Our Top Strategies for Enabling Business Continuity During a Disaster:

1. Make Sure Your Help Desk is Prepared

Your IT help desk can be one of the most crucial players during a storm. In order for your help desk to be successful, all staff must be effectively trained and prepared in advance of a potential disaster. To get you started, here are the essential characteristics of an efficient help desk:

• High Availability

  • Ensure at least one member of your IT team is on call at all times. Ensure multiple methods of contact in the event servers go down.

• Understand & Educate on Cloud Solutions

  • If your team is primarily office-based, most members will need proper training and guidance on how to remotely access their work systems.

• Employee Contact List

  • Develop an internal contact list with employees' specified emergency contact information, and ensure 24/7 accessibility.

• Familiarize with Your Business Continuity Plan

  • Your IT staff should fully understand protocol in the face of a disaster, and be able to effectively communicate it to the rest of your business.

2. Enable Remote Operations and Productivity

Cloud-based office solutions, such as Office 365, can enable employees to access business-class versions of everyday-use software like Word and Excel, and collaborate from any location, nullifying many of the negative effects of severe travel disruption. Used in conjunction with a cloud storage solution, Office 365 can allow many employees to continue their work unhindered from home or a temporary office.

3. Ensure Foolproof Data Backup & Disaster Recovery

iCorps Guardian ensures redundant levels of protection from data loss including local backups and recovery through onsite image-based backups to an iCorps Guardian appliance and business continuity through backup and disaster recovery in the cloud. Learn more here.

Related Content: 
Five Step Vulnerability Analysis for Business Continuity Planning 
Three Business IT Disaster Recovery Plan Essentials 
15 Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Stats