For most of the UK (even Bristol!) the end of January was blanketed by snow, causing disruption to many businesses. Here at Bristol IT Company we had a ‘snow day’ but for the majority of our customers this would have gone unnoticed. This is because although most of us didn’t venture into Bristol HQ it was still business as usual from our home offices. Unplanned disruptions such as bad weather highlights the need for businesses to have contingency plans in place and often this is only realised on the day.

Business Continuity

Business Continuity is defined as the “ability of the key operations of a firm to continue without stoppage, irrespective of the adverse circumstances or events”¹. For a number of businesses the key elements required to deliver business continuity such as working from home, include having access to emails, business applications & documents and the ability to take calls as if you were in your office. Your business grinding to a halt for a day due to unforeseen circumstances can not only lose you money but can also damage business relationships with customers and suppliers.

The technical bit

Within our product portfolio there are a number of areas to consider when formulating a business continuity plan. Some of these we’ve listed below:

Connectivity: With a modern phone system you have the ability to forward phone calls to employees’ mobiles – or perhaps even a soft phone on their computer. You can even continue to use ring groups and queuing functionality.

Security: Being able to connect back to the office is key if you’re unable to get in. Sophos XG Firewalls, which are highly recommended by Bristol IT, provide an easy & secure way to get connected back to the office from your home PC or work laptop, using a robust secure VPN access, protecting your company data from unauthorised access. Configured in advance, it’s as easy as two clicks to connect back to the office – or it can even be configured on the day!

Cloud: One of the advantages of your IT infrastructure being stored in the cloud, is the redundancy. As long as you have an internet connection, your infrastructure should be just as accessible as it was before the snow.

Being a complete IT solutions provider means we have the knowledge and experience to ensure you have a business continuity plan that enables all aspects of your business IT to work seamlessly even if you are unable to come into your office.

Be prepared!

So next time snow or any other ‘disaster’ threatens disruption to your business, don’t leave it till the last minute to set up contingency plans. Work with us to put a business continuity plan in place that means if you have to enable home working at the drop of a hat you can do so easily, and often without your customers even noticing.