5 Essential Ways to Protect Your Business Technology During a Power Outage

A study by the University of Lincoln has concluded that “power cuts will become more regular around the globe as electrical supply becomes increasingly vulnerable and demand for technology continues to grow at an unprecedented rate”. And closer to home, The Washington Post reports that “the U.S. grid is aging and stretched to capacity. More often the victim of decrepitude than the forces of nature, it is beginning to falter”.

Clearly, this is bad news for individuals who may experience threats to safety and security in the event of a power outage -- or at the very least, be forced to inconveniently and unproductively “hunker down”, light some candles, and wait for the grid to get back online; which can take minutes, hours, or even days.

Yet, this is also a major worry for businesses, since power outages are more than inconvenient: they are costly. Indeed, a study by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found that power outages across the U.S. -- including many smaller “brownouts” that never make the headlines -- cost a whopping $80 billion each year.

Unfortunately, businesses cannot wait for the Powers That Be in State Legislatures and on Capital Hill to fix the country’s aging and stressed-out infrastructure. Fortunately, however, they can take matters into their own hands and implement the following 5 solutions to protect their business technology during a power outage: 

1. Switch to Hosted VoIP

Hosted VoIP phone systems utilize a geographically dispersed cloud infrastructure. As a result, a local power outage will not take the system offline. Employees can continue making and receiving calls, either from their certified VoIP phone (if supported by a UPS or generator), or through their mobile phone. What’s more, employees in other parts of the country or world will not be affected at all. For example, a power outage in Boston will not impact offices or branches in Miami, Dallas, Hong Kong, etc.  

2. Deploy Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS)

UPS is essentially an industrial-strength battery back-up that enables computers and devices to continue working for a period of time in the event of a power outage (the amount of time depends on the capacity of the UPS).

3. Commercial Generators

Businesses that want an even more reliable power back-up system can install commercial generators, which are powered by fuel (e.g. natural gas or propane). These generators kick in during a power outage.

4. Surge Protectors

Though they are hardly “advanced technology” anymore, good old fashioned surge protectors are still essential for protecting devices and computers in the event of an electrical surge.    

5. The Cloud

Last but not least: many businesses are elevating their data to the cloud; not just because it is convenient and cost-effective, but because it safeguards their data in the event of a power outage (or other on-the-ground issue, such as hardware failure, malware attack, etc).

Learn More

To learn more about how a hosted VoIP system can be a central part of your strategy to protect your technology during a power outage, contact the Votacall team today. Your consultation with us is free.

To help protect your business from a power outage, finding the right partner for your hosted VoIP phone system is a must. In order to help you make the best choice, dowload our FREE eBook now: