Don’t Let Hurricanes Impact Your Systems

Severe weather events, like hurricanes, are common, but nevertheless devastating. When high winds and torrential rains interfere with electricity and power, shutting down networks and systems, business grinds to a halt. With the proper precautions, however, you can ensure your business is protected from whatever Mother Nature throws our way.

Cox has an eight-step guide to ensure your business and its networks are protected from any severe weather your area may experience:

1. Forward your phones: in the event your phone lines go down, ensure your clients can still reach you, even if they only have the phone number that doesn’t work. Head to MyAccount, then log in. Next, choose “Call Forwarding” under “Voice Tools,” then, under “Call Forwarding Rules,” choose “Not Reachable.” Now, enter the number you want to forward calls to. Whenever your main phone number is out of service, calls will automatically move to this new number.
2. Protect your devices: Cox suggests you plug all electronic devices into a surge protector, rather than simply plugging them into an outlet. That way, in the event of a lightning surge, these devices will not be damaged or broken.
3. Confirm your contact info: if Cox needs to contact you, they should have your most up-to-date information. You can update it from MyAccount under “Update Contact Info.”
4. Check your voicemail remotely: you don’t need access to your main line in order to check your voicemail. Dial your phone number, press *5, then punch in your ID and PIN. If you set it up ahead of time, you can also check your voicemail from the MyAccount app.
5. Access wifi hotspots: Cox has a network of over 3 million wifi hotspots, should you need to access wifi outside of your network. You can find access from the following link.
6. Create an emergency contact list: if you haven’t done so already, Cox recommends you add contacts to your smartphone that you might need in an emergency.
7. Keep your business online with Net Assurance: Cox’s Net Assurance plan automatically connects your system to 4G LTE in the event of a network outage. You can learn how to sign up for this program here.
8. Secure your data with cloud solutions: this last point is good advice for anyone. Storing important data in the cloud, whether for business or personal use, is a great step to protecting that data.