Hurricane Season is Coming: Essential Prep for Gulf Coast Businesses to Protect IT and Operations

The Gulf Coast region—home to bustling cities like Pensacola, Mobile, Baldwin County, and Biloxi—is no stranger to hurricanes and tropical storms. These powerful storms can cause significant disruptions to businesses, leaving them vulnerable to operational downtime, property damage, and data loss. As we approach hurricane season, it’s essential for businesses in these areas to take proactive steps to ensure they’re prepared for any eventuality.

Here’s a comprehensive hurricane business prep checklist, with a special focus on the importance of securing your IT infrastructure.

1. Create a Disaster Recovery Plan

Every Gulf Coast business should have a detailed disaster recovery plan in place. This plan outlines the steps to take before, during, and after a hurricane to ensure business continuity. It should include:

• Emergency contact information for key staff members and suppliers
  
  
• Evacuation routes and shelter-in-place plans
  
  
• A communication strategy to keep employees and customers informed
  
  
• Specific instructions for securing your physical premises and equipment
  
  

2. Review and Test Your Backup Systems

One of the most critical elements of hurricane preparedness is ensuring your IT infrastructure is safe. In the event of power outages or physical damage, it’s essential that your data remains secure.

Cloud Backups

Ensure that all critical business data, including financial records, customer databases, and important files, are regularly backed up to the cloud. This allows for quick restoration even if your physical office is damaged.

Offline Backups

For added security, consider keeping offline backups (e.g., on external hard drives) in a safe location away from your business. This will protect your data in case of a more severe disaster.

Test Your Backups

Regularly test your backup systems to ensure they’re functioning properly and that you can access critical data quickly in an emergency. Run full restore tests to ensure that data can be fully recovered after a loss.

3. Ensure Your IT Infrastructure is Resilient

Before hurricane season begins, conduct a full review of your IT systems to ensure they’re equipped to withstand the challenges of a disaster. This includes:

UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supplies)

Make sure that your servers, computers, and networking equipment are equipped with UPS devices. These devices can provide backup power long enough to safely shut down equipment and prevent data loss during power outages.

Physical Protection for Equipment

Ensure that all physical IT equipment, such as servers and computers, is properly secured and elevated off the floor in case of flooding. If possible, move critical hardware to an offsite location or data center with better storm protection.

4. Secure Your Network and Devices

Cybersecurity is a major concern during natural disasters. In the chaos that follows a hurricane, cybercriminals may take advantage of vulnerable businesses. To avoid this:

Update Software and Security Patches

Ensure that all software, including your operating systems and cybersecurity tools, are up to date. This will reduce vulnerabilities that could be exploited by attackers during or after a hurricane.

VPN Access for Remote Employees

Ensure that employees working remotely have secure access to your business network via a VPN (Virtual Private Network). This will keep your data encrypted and secure, even if your office is inaccessible.

5. Communicate with Your Team

Effective communication is key during a hurricane. Ensure that employees are informed about emergency protocols, backup plans, and how to stay in touch if the office is closed. Set up a system for mass communication, such as an emergency alert system or group chat, so that everyone knows what to do.

6. Review Your Insurance and Contracts

Hurricanes can cause significant damage to physical property. Ensure that your business has adequate insurance coverage for flood and storm damage. Review your policies to make sure they cover IT equipment and any data loss, which may not be covered under a standard property insurance policy.

7. Prepare for Post-Hurricane Recovery

Once the storm has passed, you’ll need to assess the damage and begin the recovery process. Your disaster recovery plan should include:

• A list of IT recovery tasks, such as restoring data from backups and checking system functionality
  
  
• A plan for contacting employees and resuming business operations remotely if needed
  
  
• A procedure for reaching out to customers to update them on the status of their orders or services

Let’s Talk about Disaster Recovery

Hurricane season is unpredictable, but with the right preparation, Gulf Coast businesses can minimize the impact of storms and keep operations running smoothly. From securing your data with reliable backups to ensuring your IT infrastructure can withstand power outages, planning ahead is key. Make sure you have a disaster recovery plan in place and test all systems to ensure you’re ready when disaster strikes.

By taking proactive steps to protect both your physical assets and IT infrastructure, you can safeguard your business against the devastating effects of a hurricane. Book your discovery meeting with Phillip Long below.