For anyone located on the East Coast, you are without a doubt familiar with hurricane season – from the unpredictability to the potential and catastrophic damage. And while the season officially runs through the end of November, we’re currently in the thick of often the busiest part.
Of course, many of us have standard procedures in place for protecting our homes or cars, but what about your business? In particular, the business assets you might not be able to see or touch – like servers, infrastructure or critical data? It’s important to have the procedures in place to make sure your organization and your data are always prepared to take on severe weather or a natural disaster.
Being based in New England, weather preparedness has always been a top priority for Markley Group and our customers. So take a page out of our hurricane playbook – here are the five steps we take whenever our facilities are facing potential danger, like Hurricane Hermine earlier this month:
Test Generators – In the face of an emergency, backup power is critical. By testing your business’s generators ahead of time, you can pinpoint any issues that might arise, before the weather strikes.
Verify Fuel Levels – If you’re stuck without power for any extended period of time, having enough fuel to run business-critical equipment is a requirement. Your fuel levels should never get much below the maximum capacity range, but especially if severe weather is headed your way.
Procure and Store All Necessary Equipment – Even if your equipment tests check out, the unexpected usually happens during a hurricane. Be sure you’re able to procure and store all the equipment necessary to make repairs on site well in advance. Increase Rounds for All
Mission Critical Space – If your data center or office space is in the line of severe weather, it’s possible you’ve already upped the number of emergency personnel you have on site. But that’s not always enough. Consider increasing the rounds staff make to mission critical space to catch any potential issues before they happen.
Secure Hotel Rooms for a Second Shift – Markley staffs its facilities 24x7 with a full complement of skills sets – including electrical, mechanical, telecom and remote hands technicians – and in times of severe weather, we put up a second shift at nearby hotels along with other trades such as roofers, laborers and vendor technicians. Making sure you have full staff on-site or in the area ensures any problems are fixed immediately and business-critical data is never offline.
What are your standard operating procedures in preparation for a hurricane or severe weather? At Markley Group, we are committed to making sure our customers’ critical information is never out of reach, regardless of weather patterns. Reach out to our expert team at info@markleygroup.com to learn more.
