Updated version: 2018
We have already seen snow causing business downtime this year, in some instances, this can not be helped but in many cases, remote working and collaboration can mean the weather does not need to affect your business at all.
For many businesses, the costs associated with business downtime are simply unsustainable. Obviously, severe weather in the winter is predictable, with 89% of managers recognising business continuity as a key responsibility – yet only around 63% have put suitable measures in place.
Why aren’t businesses doing more to ensure that employees can continue working when they cannot get into the office?
At Complete I.T. we work with our clients to ensure they have the best processes in place to keep them running. Here are just a few tips to keep you working this winter.
The power of the Cloud
Embracing Cloud computing will ensure business continuity and productivity is not affected by winter outages.
Cloud solutions such as Microsoft Office 365 provide access to your work applications anytime, any place, and via any device. This means that localised disasters or outages, which prevent employees making it into the office, will not affect workflow. Your team can work remotely for as long as required, using the collaborative features and productivity tools of Office 365.
There’s a good chance that your business uses bespoke software for some of your operations, but again the Cloud can assist. By migrating applications to the Microsoft Azure Cloud platform, they too can be accessed remotely.
Avoiding permanent data loss
Migrating corporate systems to the Cloud is about more than simply making key systems accessible in times of disaster. A localised flood may destroy your company server, rendering all the data stored on it inaccessible – potentially permanently.
This is not an issue when using Cloud services because data is held offsite, often spread across several datacentre to protect against loss. This level of protection means that your office and one of the Cloud datacentres could be destroyed, but your data would be protected and still available.
You must always have a backup solution in place to ensure you are able to restore your data from the most recent backup.
No more business downtime
Of course, these benefits are only available if you have a business plan in place in case of an unexpected issue.
Any team members that need to work from home must have access to a device they can work from. Everyone must know how to access the various cloud-based programmes you use as a business.
To learn more about protecting your business against winter outages and other unexpected issues that may affect your ability to work, please get in touch to arrange a meeting.
Want more information? Contact one of our offices in Birmingham, Bristol, London, Manchester, Oxford, Peterborough, Swindon or Thames Valley!