We were all racing to stock up on gas, canned goods, water and batteries when a hurricane was headed our way this month. Fortunately, Irma spared us but it won’t be the last hurricane to head to Charleston. During hurricane season, keeping ourselves and family safe are the utmost importance! However, once the storm has passed and we’ve all left our place of evacuation to return home, we want that sense of normalcy back. Having your work backed up makes that return to normalcy much faster and easier!
You and your family’s safety IS the most important thing! No, it is not the end of the world if my tax support documents are washed away but…..it would have been nice to back up ahead of time! The best way to protect your documents is before the weather channel starts following the storm 24/7 and your friends and family are harassing you about evacuation plans.
You probably have a ton of data. Take a good look at what you have and prioritize what needs to be saved ahead of time.
The Cloud is able to store loads of data in case your computer gets damaged. The server you use may have a server based in an affected location but they’ll get it back up and running. You can easily upload to Cloud based sites and be done with it! Put them in different folders for better organization.
You can also back up your information with pay services. There are many of these servers that you pay to do automatic online backups.
Use old fashioned external hard drives. Yes, I remember floppy disks! Now you can use USB drives and hard drives.
There are dry bags that you can protect your electronics with. Most outdoor stores will have them and you can put your phone and computer in them for quick dips in water. These aren’t made to withstand electronics submerged for long periods of time but you can protect your phone and laptop, if needed.
The next time you have some downtown at work, instead of checking your Instagram, think about those most recently used files you accessed on your computer. Are they backed up? If not, get to work!
History has taught me this is much easier to do ahead of time rather than when you’re packing your family up to evacuate and realize you’ve run out of dog food and there’s not any gas at your local gas stations.
Stay safe!
Sincerely,
Jordan Ilderton, CPA
