Atlantic’s Scott Cave to Lead ‘Tech Talks’ Seminar
Disaster Planning for Technology – How to Stay Online through the next Hurricane or Disaster
Utility outages, IT meltdowns, and Hurricanes… Join us for this interactive session to understand why planning and preparing for technology disruptions matters to you, your business, and the Charleston economy and learn the small steps you can take today to get prepared. As we explore the options for keeping your technology up and running through the next disruption, helping your employees stay online and connected through the next evacuation, and asking the right questions for your cloud vendor, you will learn how to improve your ability to weather the next “IT” storm.
Be afraid? No.
Be prepared? Absolutely.
Speaker: Scott Cave, Atlantic Business Continuity Planning
Topic: Business Continuity Planning, Staying Connected Through Technology During a Crisis
Whether you have an established plan in place or if you are just thinking about starting a plan, everyone will benefit from this session with lessons learned and best practices to keep your technology, and your business, up and running.
Wednesday, September 4
5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Chamber Boardroom
4500 Leeds Ave., Ste. 100
Cost: Chamber members only
$10 Advanced registration (available until 12 p.m. September 3)
$15 Event Day Registration
(Cancellation Policy)
For registration assistance, contact Quin Stinchfield at 843.805.3108 or qstinchfield@charlestonchamber.org.
For event or sponsorship information, contact Ruthann Kelly at 843.805.3036 or rkelly@charlestonchamber.org.
Emergency Expo 2013
Join Atlantic this Saturday, June 1st for tips and information to get your business ready for emergencies, including hurricanes.
What: Annual Emergency Expo 2013
When: Saturday, June 1, 2013; 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Where: Lowes, North Charleston, 7555 Northwoods Blvd, North Charleston, SC 29406
Sponsored by Lowcountry CERT, this free event will provide valuable emergency preparedness information and includes interactive displays from area first responders.
Atlantic’s Scott Cave will be there to share best practice tips on preparing a business or organization for emergency situations.
James Island Hurricane Expo Kicks off 2013 Hurricane Season
Join Atlantic this Saturday, May 18th for tips and information to get your business ready for hurricane season.
What: James Island Hurricane Expo 2013
When: Saturday, May 18, 2013; 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Where: Lowes, James Island, 770 Daniel Ellis Drive, Charleston, SC 29412
Sponsored by Lowcountry CERT, this free event will provide valuable emergency preparedness information and includes interactive displays from area first responders.
Atlantic’s Scott Cave will be there to share best practice tips on preparing a business or organization for hurricane season.
“Hurricanes are one of the easiest threats for any business to prepare for because of the advance warning they typically provide,” says Cave. “However, hurricane planning requires a lot of preparation and activity well in advance to ensure a good outcome for the business, its employees, operations, technology, communications, and ultimately its customers. It is imperative that businesses and organizations begin this process now to allow enough time to prepare effectively before the next hurricane watch is posted.”
9 Common Sources of Major Disruptions
Know where you’re most vulnerable & begin your planning there.
One of the most common questions we encounter is, “How can I plan to protect my organization when I don’t even know all the types of disruptions or disasters that could impact us?” Thoughts of planning often stop right here because many organizations don’t know what to plan for and where to begin.
Fortunately, there is an established planning methodology that cuts through the haze and can move you to take action rather than become lost in making crystal ball predictions. You’d be well-advised to start with a review of threats such as natural disasters, technology and some of the most common human errors; and determine the impacts those threats might have on your organization. This will give you a true risk-based framework from which to begin planning. And by preparing for a short list of your greatest risks, you will be preparing your organization for many potential threats.
Common sources of major disruptions that threaten an organization’s operations include:
- Utility (power) outage
- Communications outage (phone, Internet, email)
- IT computer/server outage
- Data loss
- Loss of key employee
- Loss of facility/office building
- Cash flow disruption
- Disruption of product/service delivery to customers
- Security of information, assets, and/or personnel
Take action with our simple steps.
Identify the top 3 risks to your organization using the list above, and add to it some of your own perceived risks.
This step alone will help you discover where your organization is most vulnerable and sets the stage for you to plan and take immediate action to protect these vulnerabilities. Our clients often express huge relief and a great sense of accomplishment by completing this simple, yet powerful exercise.
To take this one step further, take our 5-minute Readiness Self-Assessment here and gain a more complete understanding of your organization’s current level of preparedness for numerous potential threats. You’ll not only receive a scored result, you’ll have the option to request a free, no obligation consultation on what simple steps to take right now to protect your organization where it is most vulnerable.
Resolve to be Resilient in 2013
As the first month of 2013 draws to a close, the resolutions we were so excited to start just a few weeks ago are already losing some momentum. That’s the nature of most resolutions — only a small number actually last and have meaningful impact.
One resolution that will have both immediate and lasting impact on your organization in 2013 and beyond is a statement and commitment: Resolve to be Resilient. It starts with the mental resolve to get yourself and your organization ready for any disruption – small or large – that could impact normal operations and damage your brand and standing in the marketplace. It ends with a plan that is flexible and documented, understood by key employees and stakeholders, and maintained through regular updates, training, and testing to ensure it remains relevant in the changing landscape of any organization. In the middle of this resolution is a learning process — learning about the vulnerabilities of your organization, the downtime tolerances and recovery priorities of your key business functions, and the needs and requirements of your customers, stakeholders, and employees to maintain organizational resiliency.
If you are ready to Resolve to be Resilient this year, start your learning process by joining us for a Lunch and Learn event on Tuesday, February 5th in Columbia, or Wednesday, February 6th in Charleston. Our host, Immedion, will feed you with a great lunch while our expert speakers provide actionable information to start your path towards resiliency in 2013. For more details and to register, please visit the web registration page for Columbia or Charleston.
Don’t let another year go by without addressing the vulnerabilities to your organization. Resolve to be Resilient this year.
South Carolina Earthquake Awareness Week
Lunch and Learn Planned for National Preparedness Month
September of each year is designated by FEMA as National Preparedness Month. FEMA released the following statement recently as part of their business preparedness message:
“This summer millions of business across the country were forced to close their doors in the aftermath of power outages, approaching wildfires, and flooding caused by tropical storms. Business interruptions, even if it lasts just a few hours, cost business owners greatly in terms of lost productivity and profits.”
Don’t let your business or organization become another statistic when the next disaster hits. Take some time to learn how you can prepare your business and keep the doors open, employees safe, and customers happy in the event of any disaster or disruption. We have partnered with some other local businesses to offer a great opportunity to learn the basics of disaster preparedness over lunch. Please join our Lunch and Learn Disaster Preparedness event on Thursday, September 13, 2012 at the new Immedion Data Center in North Charleston, SC. You’ll enjoy a nice catered lunch while learning from three local experts on key business continuity topics:
- Technology/IT preparedness and planning
- Facility planning and alternate locations
- People and Communications planning
Atlantic will be presenting on the last topic, and the entire event will only take up 90 minutes of your day (12:00 – 1:30 PM). This is a unique opportunity to participate in National Preparedness Month and walk away with valuable information to protect your organization. To register for this free event, please contact us.
