Business Continuity Planning

2021 will go down as a “banner year” for weather, and not in a good way. Business owners in Western North Carolina and Tennessee were badly shaken when the remnants of Tropical Storm Fred came through, bringing severe flash flooding that resulted in more than 22 deaths in Tennessee, alone.But that was just a blip on the radar compared to Hurricane Ida, which roared ashore on August 29 bringing torrential rains, 172 mph winds and tornadoes in six states. The remnants of Ida kept on going, causing severe flooding from Louisiana through Tennessee and all the way to New York.As a result of this year’s especially gruesome disaster scenarios, many business owners are likely rethinking their backup and disaster recovery approaches to ensure they have access to the information they need, no matter what. This may sound like an easy task, but that’s no longer a given.Even the most robust, redundant backup, housed in a Tier II data center (expected uptime of 99.741%; 22 hours of annual downtime), isn’t helpful if the personnel who need access to applications and data don’t have Internet connections to retrieve them.Yet, many business owners don’t fully consider the impact of Internet connectivity on operations. From payroll systems to Microsoft 365, a large portion (if not all) of most firm’s productivity applications are now cloud services. Without an Internet connection to reach those applications and their data, company operations halt.The question then becomes, how can we ensure 100% Internet continuity during a disaster?

A Novel Approach Hits the Mainstream

At Carmichael Consulting Solutions, we have recently been helping our customers achieve the support they need with redundant connections via cellular backup. Cellular systems are the most persistent form of Internet connectivity currently available, making a cellular failover backup solution the most practical and cost-effective way to augment a primary wired or wireless network if it goes down.Losing Internet connections and mission-critical communications is not just inconvenient. It can literally jeopardize business operations, productivity and even safety. A cellular, wireless backup network solution can provide a near-instant transition, even under dire circumstances.How Cellular Backup Works http://fast.wistia.net/embed/iframe/djxfydff9dWith cellular backup, Carmichael Consulting technicians install, at the client’s location, a wired cellular router with a long-running battery backup. Tied into the client’s network, the cellular router takes over if it senses a power outage.We have showcased this solution for many of our customers and they were deeply impressed. It is completely seamless, with even currently running applications and services continuing with 100% continuity at the time of the transition to cellular backup. (We recently created a video that illustrates how seamlessly this solution works. You can view it, here.)Currently, most cellular backup solutions run on 4G networks, which have proven their reliability over time. Eventually, 5G cellular backup will be available, allowing greater bandwidth and faster data transmission. When it is, Carmichael Consulting will transition its customers to 5G cellular backup.

Beyond Cellular Backup

We’re not suggesting that cellular backup should replace other forms of data backup. Rather, it complements business continuity planning solutions we offer, such as Datto data backup and recovery and our two-tiered business continuity service, which protects against “human-caused” disasters, whether from employee error or a cyberattack.

A Better Solution from a Highly Respected Vendor

In a brief chat, we can provide all the details of our recommended solution, CISCO Meraki Cellular backup and explain how it would work for your firm. We would also be happy to discuss our other backup services, including the approaches mentioned above. To request a complimentary consultation, call 678-719-9671 Ext. 2 or email sales@carmichaelconsulting.net.