Inclement Weather for Businesses

At Digital Glitch IT Solutions, we decided years ago to put together an Inclement Weather Prep/Checklist for businesses to have before and during a Weather-related incident. This document doesn’t cover everything, nor do we convey that it covers everything. We would just like to have current, past, potential and future clients have a list of things to consider in bad weather.

Prepping for bad weather is something we all think about and sometimes wait until its too late to plan on, this document is an ideal listing of things to collect and do before.

1. Have a list of Vendors Names, Numbers and Account Numbers written or printed out and not in your office or building.

2. Have a list of Employee Contacts for everyone and consider having a call tree with your employees versus calling everyone yourself.

3. Make sure your Data is backed up as well as leave it onsite. Your IT Company should have plans on running backups and saving them off-site or in the cloud.

4. Make sure your IT Company has tested the restore process in case you have to replace a device. 50% of the time, restores fail or data fails to backup. If you are not sure or don’t have an IT Company, feel free to give us a call.

5. Make sure All devices are unplugged before the weather, if possible. Surges happen after storms, especially when power is being restored and the last thing you want is for your Computer or Server to get hit with a surge and it sets you back days if not weeks to have the device up and running again.

6. In some cases, unplug your computers/devices and take them off the floor. This is important especially in flood prone areas.

7. Make sure to update your business voicemail/answering message to let employees and clients know the status of your office. You will be surprised how many people will still show up for an appointment or want to stop by after an event.

8. If you have equipment near windows and doors, remove it from that area or cover the equipment with a garbage bag to protect it from water, wind or any damages.

9. Any Proprietary Software you use that can NOT be retrieved online, take with you or store it in a safe area.

10. Remember, just because your power is on right after a storm, doesn’t mean the electric company is done in your area and may turn it back off to work on the local grid, so don’t rush to turn things back on until you know it is safe too.

11. Make plans ahead of time to see if employees can work from home.

12. Assess any vulnerabilities of your business operations

13. Develop a business continuity plan

14. Establish a chain of command

15. Make sure your devices have a surge protector! If not, get with your IT Company to make plans to have one for every device.

16. Review and Update your business insurance policy to make sure you are covered.

17. Keep an inventory list of your items.

If you have experienced any kind of damage due to a storm, let us know or your IT Company know. Most insurance companies want pictures and descriptions of what issues you are having, so let us know what we can do for you.

Remember to have patience and stay safe during bad weather.

If you have any questions, please feel free to email us at:

help@digitalglitch.tech

or

910-604-6373 or 865-224-3260

Thank You,

Dave Rowe - Owner

www.digitalglitch.tech

Inclement Weather Checklist

Business Inclement Weather Prep List