The recent Hurricane Ian wreaked havoc across Florida, leaving widespread damage and disruption in its wake. For many businesses, the storm meant lost revenue, property damage, or even permanent closure. However, with proper planning, the impacts of such natural disasters can be mitigated. A robust
data backup and recovery strategy is one critical aspect of business continuity planning.
As climate change leads to more extreme and frequent storms,companies in storm-prone regions like Florida cannot afford to gamble with their data. The average cost of enterprise downtime is estimated to be over $300,000 per hour. Small and medium businesses are hit even harder - with around 60% failing within six months after a
data loss disaster.
So what should Florida businesses be doing to armor themselves against data loss in the event of hurricanes or other disasters?
First and foremost, redundant offsite backups are essential. Backing up to the cloud provides an accessible copy of data outside the physical office. Critical files and
databases should be automatically backed up daily or even hourly. External hard drives, tapes, or other media stored safely offsite are also smart insurance.
Business continuity best practices advise the "3-2-1 rule" - maintaining three copies of data, on two different physical storage types, with one copy offsite. Following this guideline prevents against localized infrastructure damage. For example, if flooding destroys on-premise servers, cloud backups can restore crucial data access.
Florida companies should regularly test and audit these offsite copies rather than just set-and-forget. Cyber disasters like ransomware can silently corrupt backups. Confirming that recovery systems are failsafe before a crisis occurs gives confidence that restoration is only a click away.
In addition to safeguarding data itself, resilience plans need to consider business systems, supply chains, and employees. Cloud computing and remote collaboration tools empower working from anywhere when offices are inaccessible. Procedural documentation also helps smoothly hand off operations if key personnel are unavailable.
And while hoping for the best, resilience requires assuming infrastructure systems like power, roads, fuel, or internet may go down for extended periods. Adequate emergency supplies, identified alternative worksites, and procedures for working offline/remotely reduce vulnerability.
Data backups combined with strong business continuity planning lead to confidence and quick rebounds when serious incidents hit. And in Florida's climate, preparation for disasters like Ian may make the difference between shutting down for good or successfully riding out the storm.
Beyond resilience to hurricanes themselves, Floridian companies must also steel themselves against associated data threats. Flood and wind damages often provide openings forbn. Rushing restoration without good security practices in place leaves businesses exposed to malware or ransomware attacks.
Likewise, rapid shifts to remote work opened doors for threat actors to exploit. Victims of natural disasters may also face phishing attempts tugging on heartstrings to drop
cyber vigilance. Maintaining software patches, multi-factor authentication, staff security training, and
data encryption continues guarding against opportunistic hackers before, during and after tumultuous events.
A comprehensive continuity strategy sews together all aspects of operational resilience:
data backup, emergency planning, supply chain adaptation, infrastructure hardening, insurance, and
cybersecurity. Staying agile and cross-training employees enables shifting business processes to address various scenarios. Monitoring leading indicators allows early response as situations develop.
And perhaps above all, a cultural commitment to resilience from executive leadership prepares organizations to handle crises. Storm-tested Floridian businesses focus on bouncing back stronger, not just survival.
Hurricane Ian and future disasters will continue testing Florida's mettle. But companies taking proactive ownership of business continuity plant deep roots to weather the winds and floods ahead. Comprehensive preparation and planning allows emerging data intact—bringing calm beyond the storm.
Visit
www.itb-solutions.com today to schedule your free consultation and continuity readiness assessment. With informed planning, your organization can make it through the hurricane season and beyond. ITB Solutions helps you prepare for the worst, while hoping for the best this season!
