More companies are moving their mission critical applications and services to the cloud. Cloud services have helped companies reduce IT spending as well as the time they spend managing IT. It is imperative that companies have a contingency plan just incase their access to these applications is compromised or becomes unavailable. Access to all cloud services is dependent upon a reliable connection to the Internet. Below are a few tips that small business can use to ensure your organization stays connected to your cloud services at all time.

1. Have a backup connection to the Internet – It is always best practice to have an alternate connection to the Internet just incase your main ISP goes down. Your organization can get a cheap DSL connection for as low as $20 / month to use in case of emergencies.

2. Have a backup laptop – If your organization primarily makes use of desktops to conduct business it may be a good idea to keep a laptop charged just case you lose power. Coupled with a mobile hotspot, your organization can remain connected during a power outage.

3. Have a backup Phone line – If your organization uses VoIP phones, it may be a good idea to have a few analog phone lines on standby along with a 2 line phone just incase your power goes out or your internet goes down. Your VoIP Provider can easily forward all your calls to any number you choose. This will ensure that your company will not missed calls while service is being restored.

4. Invest in a battery backup – These are helpful if your office experiences a power outage. Most battery backups can run for a few hours after power has been restored these can be purchased for your desktops as well as for your network equipment. For larger organizations there are large battery backups that can power a whole office for several hours until power is restored.

Best practices dictate that your organization has a plan in place to be able to function in case of a technology outage. The items mentioned above are usually apart of the disaster recovery plan and strategy that your IT Company can help you create and implement. Cloud services will soon be the norm so it is important that organizations do their best to ensure connectivity to these applications.

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