It’s been pounded into our heads for decades: you must have a solid backup of your data. What’s becoming clear is that having a backup for your Internet service is just as critical.
 
At CloudWyze, we refer to this less as “backup” and more as “redundancy,” but whatever name you give it, you’ll find that the more critical your access to the Internet, the more you should consider having not just one but two ISPs.
 
Think back to the hurricanes and ice storms we’ve experienced here in Wilmington. If your business primarily serves others in this area, you may have been given a pass if you couldn’t respond to email or if your server was inaccessible. But if you have customers anywhere outside our region, you didn’t make many friends when they couldn’t reach you.
 
Without Internet access, you’re not just without Web and email access. The Internet now is powering almost every aspect of business – and for good reason. Lose your Internet connection and you’ll be without a myriad of basic functionality that could cost you. Some of the key operations that the Internet affects could include:

• Credit card processing
• Security systems
• Phone systems
• Local websites
• Point-of-sale systems
• Cloud-based applications and data
• Emergency dispatch service

Companies can’t afford to be without access to the Internet for long. Give it up for an hour and it’s an annoyance. Give it up for a day, and you begin losing customers. And if your employees work remotely and you’re not in the cloud, they can’t work even if they’re in Paris, where hurricanes seldom hit.
 
If you rely on the Internet, make sure you have reliable Internet to begin with. Get dedicated Internet – access that is designated for your company only, and is backed by a guarantee with a Service Level Agreement.
 
And then, consider a second Internet provider as an insurance policy. By having this fail-safe, you can continue to work, even if it is at a limited capacity, when your primary provider is unavailable – or even if a human error (or terrorist attack) causes an outage.
 
Take your Internet access as seriously as you take your power source. And plan for the What If – it’s likely to happen.
 
Shaun Olsen is the CEO and President of CloudWyze. CloudWyze was created to help businesses focus and perform at their optimal level by crafting and executing custom technology plans for businesses of every type and size. To learn more about CloudWyze, visit www.CloudWyze.com. Shaun can be reached at [email protected] or 910-795-1000.