On Monday, June 1, hurricane season 2020 officially begins. With the start that 2020 has had – Australian fires, COVID-19, and record unemployment and wild stock markets with nauseating, historic daily lows, all bets are off for this year’s hurricane season. The Weather Channel recently released its hurricane outlook for 2020, and they predict it will be an even more active season than usual. According to the outlook, we can expect between 13 and 19 named storms, six to 10 hurricanes and three to six major hurricanes. Throw in a Sharknado attack, and things will be on par with the first half of 2020.
Below are five tips your team can take now to prepare for hurricane season and any other natural disasters 2020 has to throw our way:
Create a disaster recovery plan.
Many disaster recovery plans have been put into practice so far in 2020. But if you haven’t used the start of 2020 as a reason to review yours, do so now. In the aftermath of a disaster, getting your business back online is crucial to survival. According to a report from FEMA, 40 percent of businesses do not reopen following a disaster. On top of that, another 25 percent fail within one year. Having a disaster recovery plan can help your business avoid becoming a statistic. From business continuity to records safekeeping, SRS has walked many companies through this process.
Go digital.
If your office only uses paper records, you could be at serious risk come hurricane season. But the thought of “going digital” scares a lot of people off. While many assume “going digital” requires scanning every piece of paper, we have created a more cost effective and more efficient document management solution. We scan only what you need, index and store the rest that is available for you to access via our “scan on demand” feature.
Purge old records.
If old records are taking up valuable space, at best, they are taking up valuable space. At worst, they could become a liability in the aftermath of a storm. Consider working with SRS to purge your old records, we bring secure document shredding services right to your business’s door with the option to witness the secure destruction of your files. Our mobile shredding trucks can shred up to 6,000 pounds of paper per hour. No option is more secure and comforting than having your files destroyed at your location, while watching the entire process.
Consider “vault storage” for hard drives or priceless heirlooms.
Let’s face it. Some items you just can’t digitize. Does your business have back up hard drives that must be kept offsite? Or are there precious heirlooms such as first edition manuscripts and photographs? We apply the same security and logistics advantages of our record storage business to our asset management business. Whether you need specialty storage that is climate controlled or ambient temperature for your assets, or state-of-the-art fireproof vaults, we have the space and processes to manage your inventory.
It’s never too late.
If you are unable to enact any of these four strategies, and disaster strikes – or if you are already dealing with records issues related to the other surprises 2020 has thrown at us – it’s not too late. SRS can help! We devise cost effective, efficient solutions that will help your business deal with short-term pains while also creating value that will benefit you in the long run.
