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If the blinking "00:00" on your VCR
clock isn't enough of a clue, then know we're in the middle
of lightning season in Southwest Florida. That means electric
outages, translating into inconvenience and unexpected costs
for businesses that suffer the consequences of being hit by
lightning. I know because it happened to me. A few weeks ago,
my company was hit by lightning or, as the expression goes,
we were "fried."
It's ironic that a computer company -- which
you'd think would be immune -- wasn't spared. I suppose it's
like a dentist discovering a cavity, or an automobile service
manager finding a flat tire on his car. Disasters happen to
all of us and while you can only do so much to prevent cavities
and flat tires, you can do a lot to minimize the problems
of lightning striking your building. Being in the technology
business, we were as prepared as possible.
Disasters happen to
all of us and while you can only do so much to prevent
cavities and flat tires, you can do a lot to minimize
the problems of lightning striking your building.
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The typical complaint we get after lightning
strikes one of our clients is that the computers won't turn
on. A lightning-caused surge has entered the business through
the electrical system or internet connection. If the computers do
turn on, either they can't connect to the server, keeping
employees from accessing data, or the modems won't modem,
preventing them from connecting to the company's Internet
service provider. In the worst case, data files have either
been damaged or lost altogether.
It's a good bet that if you're like most companies
we deal with, you don't have a disaster recovery plan. It's
one of those things you know you should do but never get around
to doing until it's too late. Putting such a plan into effect
doesn't have to be as tedious or time-consuming as it seems.
We suggest that businesses start with a few basic precautions
and practices that can make getting back on your feet much
easier and quicker.
A good starting point is to have good backup for your data
and know how to restore it in case of emergency. Several people
in the company should be able to perform backup and restoring
functions. Test the quality of the backup on a regular basis.
Sometimes the physical or mechanical backup is good but the
tape is bad. Just like audiocassette or videotapes, constant
use can degrade them over time, especially if they're used
over and over. It's wise to store a set of backup tapes off
site because they'd do you no good if lightning or any other
natural disaster sets your building on fire or floods it.
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Mini-power failures in Southwest
Florida don't usually last too long and a UPS that provides
1-2 hours of protection will typically be more than sufficient.
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Another vital element that's vulnerable to outages is your
telephone system and Internet connection. It's a good idea
to have the phone system on an uninterrupted power supply
(UPS) in the event of a power outage. Mini-power failures
in Southwest Florida don't usually last too long and a UPS
that provides 8-10 hours of protection will typically be more
than sufficient. Be sure to have company cell phones and alpha
pagers up and ready for deployment. If telephone landlines
are down, the cellular and wireless options may not be.
Here's a handy checklist that every company should follow
to prepare against unwanted intrusions from Mother Nature.
After my company's recent experience, I'd even say inevitable
intrusions.
- Have a written disaster recovery plan that identifies
what information you'll need should a disaster strike. Indicate
the people who are responsible for pulling the resources
together to get the company back on its feet.
- Make the backing up of data an essential part of your
daily operation. Assign one or two staff members to back
up the tapes or CDs and make sure they're good. Store a
set of backups in a safe, off-site location.
- Have sufficient emergency power sources such as uninterrupted
power supply (UPS) modules that can provide 1-2 hours of
power to a server and 2-3 hours of power for a phone system.
- Investigate the various options for surge suppressors
that can often help to minimize electrical damage.
- CRS Technology offer Online Backup services that allow clients to directly backup their business critical data to a secure offsite location for storage using encrypted file transfer. the service is offered as an enhancement to your existing backup strategy.
- Constant Data Protection (CDP), a service CRS Technology
offers, is a service to stricly monitor your backup status
on a much needed daily basis. For our contract clients we
backup a generous portion of your data remotely. for more
information on the data backup services we offer please read
more on our
Online Backup Services page.
These are the essentials of an emergency list. Don't wait
until disaster strikes. The over-riding precaution, especially
during lightning season, is to adopt the motto of the U.S.
Coast Guard - always prepared!
Carol Conway is the owner of CRS Technology. She may be contacted
at carol@crsonline.net.
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