Disasters are more common in the business world than you might think, be they natural disasters that level your office or simple electrical problems that spark a structural fire. A business-threatening disaster could occur at any moment, and it is your responsibility to ensure that it doesn’t put your business’ future at risk. To this end, we recommend you have plans for off-site operations, even if only temporary.

Off-site operations involve your business keeping itself operational even if it is forced to function without your office, be it fully remote through your employees’ home offices or through a temporary office setup. There are two categories that should be addressed for your off-site plan to work: technology requirements and space requirements. Let’s consider them both.

Technology Requirements

One of the biggest challenges of any off-site operations plan is technology and making sure that all resources are accessible to those who need them. If a disaster ever destroys your infrastructure, you’ll also want to have data backup and disaster recovery implemented. Most backup solutions let you restore data directly to the device itself, meaning that there is minimal downtime in the event of a disaster and the recovery process can start immediately.

However, you also need to take measures to ensure your team also has access to these resources, such as the hardware requirements (like laptops, smartphones, etc.) and the software solutions that utilize them (through the cloud, for example). Other solutions to consider include communications applications and productivity software.

Space Requirements

Modern technology has given businesses so many options to complete work, along with the tools that allow for it. Off-site locations can, again, include your employees’ home offices, like if they were working remotely, or a temporary office setup similar to a satellite location. In either case, you will have to make sure that your employees have access to it so they can work during these difficult times. While a satellite office or temporary office does have its merits, remote work is cheaper and more cost-effective, and there are many benefits to reap from this as well, like the low comparative cost to set up; all you need to do is make sure your team has access to the tools and technology needed to get their work done.

If your business needs help with planning for remote operations, Apex Technology can help. To learn more, reach out to us at (704) 895-0010.