Natural disasters have always been a part of living on earth, and they’re happening more frequently.
While individuals are encouraged to stay home and stay safe during the worst disasters (if there’s enough warning), many essential services need to keep operating to keep others safe.
Unfortunately, you can’t rely on others eventually. There’s always a chance that government relief funds will run out, or that a disaster will be so devastating that your business will be crushed if you don’t have a backup plan.
Beyond that, many businesses should consider safe and effective ways to operate as soon after disasters as possible—or even safe ways to stay productive during an emergency. Here are a few details to help your business maintain as much uptime as possible with trending technology.
Uninterruptible Power Supplies And Generators
What happens if your business loses power? Hopefully, your computers are able to save information and your production systems are able to finish their job.
In storms, critically high summers with brownouts or cold winters with frozen power lines, power loss can last for days. Repairs depend on the local utility company’s ability to respond, but storm conditions that last for days—and especially storms followed by more storms in rapid succession—can make it hard for your business to recover.
Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS) are the first line of defense for small systems that need power outage protection. A UPS is a battery or a series of batteries with a control board that manages power distribution and can give power readings.
By connecting computers and other electronics, your systems can stay powered after an outage. This gives workers a bit of time to save their information before shutting down permanently. It also reduces the chance of file errors from sudden shutdowns.
Wired internet connections from wired (DSL, Cable, Fiber) ISPs (Internet Service Providers) won’t work if the power at your internet company is out. You can connect to the router/modem, but that only allows internal networking, not access to the World Wide Web.
If bigger machines in your building need power for a few last products or just a few more minutes of operation, consider a solar power system or a fuel generator.
With solar power, you can generator power when sunlight is available (and even moonlight with some advanced systems) while storing power in battery stacks. Your main price points are not from the solar panels, but getting enough batteries to provide meaningful hours of power for emergency purposes.
That doesn’t mean solar panel costs are irrelevant! With enough efficient solar power panels connected to your business, you can both cut electrical utility costs and prepare your business for emergency situations.
Photovoltaics is a growing industry and the ability to convert and store power is getting better every day, so look into a solar loan if you’d like to purchase a solar configuration that fits your business perfectly.
Smart Home Technology For Businesses
The term smart home technology is catchy, but the tech isn’t limited to homes. Another trendy term is the Internet of Things (IoT), which describes devices with internet connections that aren’t traditionally connected.
Rather than the standard desktops, laptops, smartphones, tablets, servers, routers, switches, and hubs, there are many appliances and business tools that can be connected to give you an advantage during a storm.
Here are a few IoT devices to consider:
- Smart Locks
- IP or Connected Cameras
- Smart Lighting
- Smart Thermostats
- Sensors of all types.
Sensors are a big feature to consider.
Whether you’re a fan of Star Trek, Star Wars, Outlaw Star, Starship Troopers, or any other science fiction, the world of onboard sensors is here. Humidity meters, sensors that activate when water levels rise, and dangerous gas detectors can be installed and checked remotely.
There are many complex ways to make these devices work, but implementation is simple. It’s not your job to figure out a way to make computers detect certain things; you just need to find a working detector.
Water line meter, humidity meters, CO2 and many other gas meters already exist. They just need to be connected to a device that has an ON or OFF meter when something is detected.
It’s that simple. Spending big money means being able to see the levels and composition of whatever you’re detecting. Knowing that you have a problem at all is more than enough for most businesses.
Contact a technology consultant to discuss other trending tech that can give your business an edge in multiple markets.
