Hurricane Preparedness: Business Technology Guide 

Living in Orlando, Florida, offers numerous advantages. However, when the first hurricane appears on the map, it becomes evident why some people may be hesitant to purchase a home or establish a business in the city. 

It’s impossible to know what to fully expect when a hurricane is coming, but we want to help you prepare to the best of our abilities. In this guide, we’ll cover important technology considerations to keep your business operating in the event of a hurricane. 

 

Going Remote for a Hurricane 

COVID-19 forced businesses to identify whether they could run their operations remotely. IT teams around the world scrambled to ensure VPN, Remote Desktops, and/or SharePoint sites were up and running for their employers and customers. This reality may have more businesses prepared for hurricane season than ever before. 

 

To summarize, here is a quick checklist of considerations to go through when going remote during a hurricane: 

• Email: Is it in the cloud or on your own server? 

• Line of business: Is it hosted in the cloud or on your own server? If it’s on your own server, how do you access it? Remote desktop or some other type of remote tool? 

• Shared Data: Is it in the cloud or on your own server? 

• Team Collaboration: Do you use Microsoft Teams, Email, or rely on face-to-face communication? 

• Phone Calls: Do you have a traditional phone system or VoIP? 

• Physical Servers: If they are not in a safe and secure environment, how do you access them? 

• SSL VPN: Do you have enough licenses? Can your firewall handle this load? 

• Connectivity: How do you connect to your work network remotely? 

 

Actionable Steps to Take Leading Up to a Hurricane 

It’s impossible to know what to fully expect when a hurricane is coming, but we want to help you prepare your business to the best of our abilities. Here are some actionable steps and technology considerations to take leading up to a hurricane: 

 

• Have a written plan for disaster recovery. Think about what you would do if your office was damaged or destroyed. 

• Make a list of all the technology you have at your office. This will help you keep track of what you need to protect or replace. 

• Have a network documentation. This is a map of how your network is set up and how everything works together. Make sure your IT Manager or IT Consultant has this information and can share it with you. 

• Back up your data offsite. Most businesses have a backup on their own server, but not many have a backup somewhere else. This is important in case your server is damaged or lost. 

• Test your backup. Ask your IT team to check that the backup is working and that your data can be restored if needed. 

• Decide which parts of your business can work remotely if there is a power outage or a disaster. This will help you prioritize what you need to keep running. 

• Make sure that your staff can work remotely if needed. This means they have the right tools, access, and training to do their jobs from home or somewhere else. 

• Talk to your staff so they know what to do if you can’t go back to the office for a while. Make sure they understand the plan and their roles and responsibilities. 

• Give your staff a checklist of what they need to take with them from the office. This could include laptops, chargers, phones, documents, etc. 

• Practice working remotely. It’s better to find out any problems or issues before a hurricane than during one. Try working from home or another location and see how it goes. 

• Make sure your IT team is ready to help you if your server goes down or if you need to set up your technology again after the storm. If you don’t have an IT team or work with a small group, find a reliable IT partner that can help you quickly and effectively. 

• Forward your phones to a cell phone, another number, or a softphone/software phone (if your phone system allows this). This way you won’t miss any important calls from your customers or partners. 

 

Considerations For the Day Before a Hurricane 

• Move computers and other computer equipment off the ground. 

• Shut down computers and unplug machines. 

• Power off printers or any other accessories. 

• Unplug Ethernet cables from computers or docking stations. 

• Use dry bags or plastic to wrap electronics if possible. 

• Coordinate with IT to schedule a normal shutdown of servers. 
• Consider getting a wireless internet failover. Your main coax or fiber line may have outages: having a backup internet option could be the missing link to keep your operation moving. 

Preparing for a hurricane can feel overwhelming, but with the right plan in place, you can protect your business and ensure continuity during the storm. If you have any questions or need assistance with your disaster recovery strategy, don’t hesitate to reach out to Awsumb Tech. Our team is here to help you navigate these challenges and keep your operations running smoothly, no matter the weather. Schedule a Free Discovery Call today to get started.