Konrad Martin

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow! That sentiment may be okay when it comes to singing a song, but snow in the Northeast can have big impacts on roads, schools and businesses.

In fact, in just over three months at the beginning of 2015 the New England area saw over 110 inches of snow; more than 400,000 people lost power in just the first storm of the season. That is an astounding figure for one snowstorm; in early 2015, the Northeast experienced over 10 snowstorms.

While the idea that the upcoming winter could be as bad as last winter seems unlikely, even if the season was half as bad as last year considerable disruption would still occur. Road conditions and school closings usually get the bulk of media attention during a weather event, but businesses are also greatly impacted, whether due to employees with school-age children unable to get to work or due to long-lasting power outages that could have an impact on your servers or other office technology.

Here are six things you should consider when planning for snow storms and how they affect the overall uptime in your business.

A written business continuity plan.We rarely get a warning when a disaster is ready to strike. Even with large snowstorms there is no way to know exactly how it will affect your location and your business. Business continuity (BC) refers to maintaining business functions or getting those functions back up and running in the event of a major disruption, such as extended power loss due to snowstorms and many other events.

Data backup. This seems to be a no-brainer – of course we want our data backed up. However, when is the last time you tested the backup? Have you recently tried to recover a file or a folder? Now is the time. Testing your data backup should be done on a regular basis. When a snowstorm is approaching, ask your internal or external IT person or team to run a test and see if they can recover a file. It takes a little bit of planning but it is well worth it if you need to rely on the backed-up data.

Image backup. Today, most business-quality backup services actually take an image of your server(s). This allows your IT person or external IT team to use this image if a power surge or other unexpected event occurs and renders the servers useless. In order to have true BC this image should be stored on a network additional storage device, as well as in the cloud. This way if the servers are interrupted from working for an extended period of time your IT team can turn the servers on in the cloud and your company can continue to work from a remote location – as long as they have power and can get Internet connectivity.

System shutdown. When storms are predicted by the weather service to take out power in your area, it is a good idea to consider shutting down the key components of your network. This is not a move that should be taken lightly, since the systems will have to be physically turned back on when the threat has passed. However, with key systems (servers, etc.) turned off, there is a much lower chance of those systems taking an energy surge or being corrupted due do a “dirty” shutdown. No one will be able to access your servers while the servers are shut off.

Home systems. Your home systems are almost as important as your work systems and need to have a plan when snowstorms are looming. We recommend shutting down home systems when the potential for power loss is high for the same reasons listed above.

Cell phones and tablets. Making sure cell phones and tablets are fully charged will potentially allow you to stay connected to work as well as local and national news. These devices can also be used to call clients, employees, family members and neighbors if you or they need help.

By having a BC plan you are allowing your company to stay competitive during an adverse event. It is essential to your company to have a plan that addresses what your company does during snowstorms and other unexpected disruptions. There is no better way to tell your clients that your company is there to stay than to be able to continue to operate during and immediately after a nor’easter!

Konrad Martin is co-founder and principal of Tech Advisors, a technology solution provider for small to mid-size businesses. He can be reached at konradm@tech-adv.com or 508-505-4696.