Fact: Something is broken – you need to get to work.

1.  Stay calm.

Remaining calm is the best strategy to surviving a system outage and keeping your focus on the current task.  Also, remaining calm will produce less emotional and techinical errors in a workplace.  

2.  Notify all users.

Proactively preparing for a system outage would include creating a Notification Plan based on different scenarios.  Using company e-mail, instant messaging, have a Co-Worker announce the outage or put a sign up saying “System is down.  Working on it now!”.

3.  Recruit a “buffer” to answer any questions.

After the initial notification, users will have many questions.  It would be ideal to recruit someone who is available to answers those questions, especially ETA questions.

4.  Be polite and understanding.

Remember to be polite and understanding when it comes to upset users.  In Step 1, keeping your focus on the current task to avoid making errors, also try to avoid “play-by-play” status updates.

5.  Documentation.

Always document each step of the recovery process.  Start with the initial problem or outage, followed by what you find, what commands you used, what errors you received and all attempts to fix the outage.  Lastly, document the steps that resolved the outage.

6.  Present the facts.

During the resolution process and the aftermath, always remain honest and present the facts.  If you caused the problem or outage, do not try to cover it up because it will complicate the process of resolving the outage.

7. Take your time.

Although, time is of the essense when system is down, take your time while troubleshooting.  If you are not sure what will resolve the problem, taking your time and implementing different solutions at a steady pace will allow you to narrow down the exact problem and resolution.

8.  Call Support.

Having product support is an essential tool for IT departments.  Calling support and submitting a ticket may consist of being on hold, waiting for a call back and sometimes an onsite visit can be a smart business decision.

9.  Stay positive.

Staying positive and continue building a knowledge of system events will prepare you for problem situations.  Having strong work relationships with co-workers will be useful for emergency situations.

10.  Be Prepared.

To be prepared for every system problem is almost impossible.  Continue building a knowledge of your environment is the strongest way to prepare for problem situations, previously mentioned in Step 9.

Hurricane season is from June 1 through November 30.  On October 29, 2012 the East Coast was hit with Hurricane Sandy.  Many businesses are still recovering and rebuilding from the largest Atlantic Hurricane on record.  Power outages, high winds and flooding affected many areas in New Jersey and New York.

The Small Business Administration and Agility Recovery hosted “Protect Your Business This Season” webinar.  

Below are five steps to protect your business before a disaster like Hurricane Sandy:

Evaluate Risks

All types of risks exist such as environmental disasters, organized disruption, loss of service, equipment failure and many more.  Assess your company building for risks (inside and outside).  Also, assess business losses during and after a disaster strikes.

Calculate the cost of interruption

Calculating for  “post-disaster”  consists of many different scenarios.  Creating a plan for up to six months of interruptions for your company.  Another major concern is to design a backup plan with secondary vendors in case all primary vendors cannot provide their specific services. 

Insurance Coverage

Consult with your agent and an insurance expert when buying insurance for your business.  Insurance policies vary, it is important to design a policy that best fits your needs.

Create a communication plan

Gather primary and secondary e-mail addresses for all employees, contractors, vendors and customers to put an e-mail alert system in place.  Businesses could also use Social Media to alert public before and after a disaster.

Telework Policy

If a disaster strikes, employees may not have the ability to travel to the office.  Setting up a Telework Policy will grant employees access to work from home.  This policy can be for all employees or specific employees.  

Need help preparing for Hurricane season?

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Small and Medium-Size Businesses (SMBs) will often take shortcuts to cut costs when purchasing.  To avoid disasters such as a loss of data or work, SMBs are strongly suggested to focus on the ten points below.

Hardware

Considering the rapid change of technology requirements, a pro-active approach for replacing desktops, laptops, servers, and networking hardware is to look five years into the future.

Backup Software

Although built-in backup software and Windows Server backup are adequate, purchasing a third-party backup solution will have the ability to recover from an image.

Internet Connection

Providing your SMB with a consumer-grade DSL line would not be an efficient business plan. Setting up a network that provides your business with more bandwidth than required will prevent a network bottleneck from occuring.

Firewall

Securing your business with only Windows built-in firewall is not ideal.  Configuring a Cisco, Fortinet, or Sonicwall is more secure, reliable and flexible in a SMB environment.

Cloud Storage

Cloud storage provides scalability, reliability and portability.  Cloud storage is divided into three categories:  Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS).  Many companies are transferring to Cloud services for access to data outside the network.

Website

Online presence has become an important key for all businesses.  A solid solution is to have a strong website, blogging and effectively using social media.

Redundancy

Redundancy is an appropriate investment towards ensuring that your SMBs network does not go down.  Similar to backups, redundancy does not affect everyday business but should an incident arise, you’ll be glad it’s there.

Support

IT Support is a necessity, whether it’s an in-house department, third-party service provider, or support for software.

Mobile Devices

The ability to work from outside the office and accessing data from anywhere  is now an important key for businesses.  Setting up a virtual private network enables laptops, tablets and smartphones to connect and work from anywhere.

Printers

Supply your SMB with a printer that has the sustainability and features required for business use.

Takeaway:  Tips for making environmental choices whether buying a new computer or maintaining your current one.

To reduce energy intake you can use a power strip, monitor usage with utilities and unplug components when not in use.  Deciding to go green for current computers or buying a new computer can help with power management to cut down on wasted energy and costs.

Energy Star is a voluntary energy efficiency program that prevents greenhouse gas emissions with strict guidelines.  EPEAT is an assessment tool to help users compare and purchase computer equipment.  Both provide tools to help make an environmental choice.

Buying a New Computer Tips:

• Research:  Find out if it is Energy Star rated, how much energy the computer will use and power management options.
• Recommendations:  Check out product reviews from previous purchasers and from non-profit organizations that provide accurate feedback (Such as EPEAT and Energy Star)
• Purify New PC:  Read the Hazardous Material Use Policy on manufacturer’s site.
• Don’t be Greenwashed:  Research the company to make sure that their “Green Computer” is not a marketing campaign with few benefits towards the environment.
• Green Guide:  If you would like user ratings and reviews for products, several websites provide these options as well as advice for purchasing new equipment. 

Upgrading Current Machine Tips:

• General Health Check:  The three major components that play a role in energy are graphics card, microprocessor and monitor.
• Replace CRT Monitor:  CRT Monitors may contain Lead, Mercury, Barium and more toxins.  Replace your old monitor with a new LCD or LED Monitor to save energy and money. 
• Upgrading Memory:  Upgrading your RAM will increase the speed of your machine while lowering the power intake, which is a quick, inexpensive fix.
• Greener Battery:  Similar to CRT Monitors, older laptop batteries contain hazardous chemicals such as lead.  Companies are starting to manufacturer Green Batteries that have a longer life expectancy using earth-friendly features.
• Greener Power Supply:  The ability to scale the power required for particular actions with your power supply is an efficient way to save energy; while regular power supplies emit a steady rate of power at all times.

Takeaway: Remove all traces of unwanted programs with the help of these uninstall tools.

2: Your Uninstall Tool

Another uninstall tool worth considering is Your Uninstaller. As with the Revo Uninstall Tool, launching Your Uninstaller displays a list of the items that can be removed. On my lab system, however, your uninstall tool found significantly more software than The Revo Uninstall Tool did.

In addition to its software removal capabilities, Your Uninstaller contains a disk cleaner, which gets rid of junk files. There is also a feature called Trace Erase, which helps protect your privacy by clearing your history.

My two personal favorite features are the File Shredder, which securely deletes files, and the Startup Manager. The Startup Manager allows you to control what gets launched at system startup. This feature could prove invaluable in cleaning malware infections. You can download a trial version of Your Uninstall tool.

3: IObit Uninstaller

Like the other uninstall tools, IObit Uninstaller starts by listing all the programs that can be uninstalled. Although this program lacks the bells and whistles of some of the other utilities, it has two features that make it worthwhile. One is the Forced Uninstall button, which is great for removing stubborn applications. The other is the way that IOBit Uninstaller categorizes applications. The software will tell you which applications are rarely used, recently installed, or consume a lot of disk space. IOBit Uninstaller is FREE.

4: Advanced Uninstaller Pro

Advanced Uninstaller Pro is a more comprehensive software removal application than some of the others. In addition to offering basic removal capabilities, this free tool can monitor the installation of an application to ensure that the application can be completely removed later on without leaving behind any fragments. Advanced Uninstaller Pro also offers several specialized cleaning utilities that are designed to clean up things like the Windows Start menu, the registry, and even your fonts.

5: Cleanse Uninstaller Pro

Cleanse Uninstaller Pro offers basic software removal capabilities, along with a number of other useful features. It includes a Force Uninstall option and a Startup Manager, as well as a junk finder. It also provides some more unusual features, such as registry backup capabilities (as well as the ability to do a system-level restore) and even a file burner that lets you burn files to disk prior to removing them. You can download a free trial of Cleanse Uninstaller Pro.

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