Well, it’s officially June first, and most true Floridians know that means the start of hurricane season. For those who didn’t know, now you do. As winds get gustier, and afternoon thunderstorms become the norm this summer, it’s time to start thinking about your business’ disaster recovery plan. Do you already know what happens when your office loses power, or Internet? If the answer is that you can’t make or receive phone calls from clients, partners, and vendors, then it’s time to start prepping.
We believe no business should experience unexpected or prolonged downtime when it comes to their voice communications because communication is at the heart of good business. So, we’ve put together a brief guide to voice backup to help you prepare for hurricane season 2018.
Since Voice over IP phones are powered by the Internet and, of course, power, it’s important to understand your options for keeping your phones up and running in the event of a storm or any kind of unforeseen downtime:
1. Have a Backup Internet Provider: Two ISPs protect your business from loss of connectivity if one provider fails you. We highly recommend all companies that need to stay online talk with their IT consultants about having two separate Internet connections.
2. Forward Your Calls: This is perhaps the simplest way to ensure your company never misses a call. You just choose where your calls go if your location loses connectivity—a secondary office is a great option, or you may prefer to have calls sent to employees’ cell phones instead. Sometimes, our clients like to have calls forwarded to home phones, that way their team can work safely from home during a storm. Wherever you decide to send your calls, your backup call flow can be automatically initiated when you lose power or Internet.
3. Employ a 4G LTE Router: For those companies that forego a secondary Internet connection, a 4G LTE router is an excellent alternative. They use local cell service to route your inbound and outbound calls, even when your Internet is down (and still allow you to call out from your business’ caller ID.
4. Use Our Mobile App: Using a mobile app allows for easy, automatic call forwarding if there’s a storm, or if you simply need to get away from the office. The TeleVoIPs app can be used for Android or iOS, and controls whether your calls ring to your desk phone, your cell phone, or both. Even if you lose power, you’ll still have the ability to make calls from your office’s phone number and outbound caller ID.
5. Keep a Generator Onsite: If possible, having a backup generator solves the biggest issue associated with hurricanes and tropical storms. If you can keep power on at your office, your team and your technology will certainly both be happier.
6. Keep Employees & Clients Up To Date: Setting a specialized greeting in advance of a storm is a good way to let your clients know that your team will be working remotely, or to give status updates to your employees.
With the right preparation well in advance of a storm, your office can operate business as usual, even in the midst of a disaster. TeleVoIPs’ phone service is hosted in the cloud, providing businesses with far more flexibility than traditional systems, ensuring your clients never get a busy signal, and can still leave you voice messages no matter what. We’re more than happy to help you with whichever options you choose to keep your business communications up and running.
If you’re already a TeleVoIPs client and would like to confirm or update your existing DR plan with us, contact our support team at [email protected]. And if you haven’t worked with us before, we’d love to ensure you have all the backup you need so your business never misses a call. Contact our sales team at [email protected].
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