The “always on” nature of business — with an increasingly mobile workforce, the Internet of Things and the ability to engage customers around the clock — demands 100 percent uptime. If IT systems aren’t performing optimally, productivity and customer service suffer.

As we head into the 2018 hurricane season, it’s time once again to evaluate your organization’s preparedness. Business continuity (BC) and disaster recovery (DR) planning involves more than just technology — your primary objectives are to ensure the safety of your people and your facilities.

In our last post, we discussed business continuity planning tips as we enter into hurricane season. Organizations should take steps to ensure that their facilities are prepared for disaster and that employees know what to do in an emergency. They should also make sure that business-critical applications and data are protected and can be recovered quickly if needed.

Hurricane season has officially begun, and forecasters with the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration are predicting “above normal” activity with up to 17 named storms developing in the Atlantic through November. No matter how many storms actually develop, it only takes one to significantly — and perhaps permanently — disrupt your business operations.