As the peak of hurricane season approaches, it's important for businesses to be prepared for potential I.T. outages and disruptions. A key challenge hotels face is that hurricanes disrupt I.T. systems, affecting revenue, payroll, and customers. Below are valuable tips to mitigate the impact of I.T. outages during this critical time.
Prepare a Disaster Recovery Plan: Establish comprehensive plan for data backup, network redundancy, and alternative communication. If your business closes, your customers will be calling for updates. You also want to maintain an online website to keep customers updated. Using email blasts and providing a recording when customers call will help keep them informed and limit your labor effort during these times.
Cloud Solutions: Use cloud-based systems for email, remote access to accounting, and communication. If your systems aren't in the cloud, we can help create a strategic plan to get it there.
Power Backup: Invest in UPS systems and generators for uninterrupted power supply to critical I.T. infrastructure.
Redundant Connectivity: Establish backup internet connections to ensure access during communication line disruptions. These should be blend of fiber optic and wireless such as wireless ISP or Starlink.
Employee Training: Train staff on I.T. disaster recovery, conduct drills, and empower them to handle I.T. issues.
Hurricane season can be challenging for any industry, but proactive planning and preparation can significantly reduce the impact of I.T. outages. By implementing robust disaster recovery measures, leveraging cloud solutions, and investing in power backup and redundancy, businesses can maintain operations and deliver a seamless customer experience even during challenging times.