Summertime is often considered the most enjoyable season, but threats to your business still exist during these months. The National Centers for Environmental Information reported losses of $15 billion caused by 2016’s summertime natural disasters alone.

To help protect your business from extreme summer weather, read on for key tips.

1. Guard Against the Weather

Extreme heat, wildfires, drought, tornados and flash floods are all common summer weather risks (depending on your business’s region). Take caution against the weather’s dangerous effects with tips, such as:

  • Use water monitors if you’re located in a flood zone. These monitors, installed in flood-prone areas of your building, such as the basement, alert you and a professional monitoring center if summer storms cause water levels to rise above normal. If your building starts to flood, time to protect property is limited, and alerts ensure you don’t waste a second responding to the emergency.
  • Integrate smart thermostats to regulate temperatures in your building. During times of high heat, the building’s temperature should remain safe for employees and building equipment. Even outside of normal business hours, control temperatures with your smartphone or tablet.

2. Keep Your Employees Safe

During a weather-related emergency, nothing is more precious to a business owner than employee lives. Keep them safe in any circumstance:

  • Review safety protocol for seasonal threats, such as tornados or flash floods, that may occur during work hours. Ensure that all employees are aware of where to go and what to do to remain safe during extreme weather.
  • Prepare employees for weather contingency plans. If their job allows for it, give employees the tools to work remotely in the event that a weather emergency renders your office unusable. Laptops and secure VPN logins should be made available to keep business operations running smoothly.

3. Protect Your Information

What happens if a weather emergency destroys your server? Would your business’s essential information be lost? Plan ahead to prevent such a mishap:

  • Store backup information in the cloud. Use a secure cloud-based solution to keep all information backed up and ready to access. Necessary information will be at your fingertips from any secure location.
  • Conduct a security audit annually. During this process, ask your trusted security professional for additional insights into your unique network setup, talking through key risks of a weather emergency.

By preparing for weather-related threats, you can ensure your business stays secure and your employees enjoy the pleasant summer months.