What Can You Do to Prevent Lightning From Frying Your Technology?

It doesn’t matter where your business is located--chances are you’re susceptible to thunderstorms. Lightning storms are very unforgiving, and they can lead to all sorts of problems for unprepared businesses. We’ll discuss some of the ways that your organization could be affected by a lightning storm, as well as how you can take measures to mitigate these dangers in the future.

Lightning causes problems for any electrical appliances and businesses that rely on them. The insurance industry estimates that around 6.5 percent of all claims are related to damages caused by lightning storms. Power surges are a major problem, as they can flood lines with power and cause damage to anything connected to them. Fires are also a major problem, as one freak accident could lead to your organization sifting through its own ashes looking for ways to rebuild its legacy.

Here are a couple of ways that your organization can best prepare for lightning storms and the damages that they can cause.

Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS)
Any technology that’s plugged into an outlet is at risk of being hit by a power surge. UPS devices can help your organization stave off damages from lightning storms by regulating the amount of energy flowing into them at all times. This keeps them from being hit too hard by power surges, and many surge protectors guarantee the quality of their product up to a certain amount of damage in monetary value.

UPS devices also function in a way which lets your data remain secure in the event of a power outage by giving you enough time to properly shut down your devices. This can make all the difference between losing important progress or suffering from data loss. Additionally, it also prevents damage to your hardware, thanks to regulation in energy levels.

Backup and Disaster Recovery (BDR)
Data backup is necessary if you want to prevent your organization from losing data, and disaster recovery is crucial for getting back in business following a disaster incident (like a fire or lightning storm). A cloud-based BDR solution that allows for multiple backups every day, fast restoration time, and offsite data storage can really be a benefit for any organization that relies on information systems as a part of their core operations.

In general, having a business continuity plan is a critical part of ensuring that your organization can wade through the damages done by threats and disasters that could end your business. Business continuity leverages various technological assets to take preventative measures against data loss and natural disasters. A business continuity plan is a much-needed first step toward keeping your business safe from lightning storms and anything else that could threaten its existence.

To learn more about how to protect your business from disaster, reach out to Directive at 607.433.2200.