Posted by Sarah Rixey on Fri, Feb 03, 2012
As part of our comprehensive disaster recovery planning services, Agility Recovery Solutions sends out a free weekly tip through email. If you would like to receive these tips, please sign up here.
Partners in Preparedness
As our audience continues to grow and new people join the Agility family, we found it appropriate to re-introduce our partnership with the Small Business Administration (SBA).
For those of you who don’t know, two years ago Agility and the SBA came together and launched an educational program, offering free tools and resources to help small business owners plan for and recover from disasters.
Today, the program continues to evolve and grow, offering new checklists and webinar topics. The co-sponsored website, www.PrepareMyBusiness.org houses everything from real-world recovery stories to information on disaster assistance loans.
Share the www.PrepareMyBusiness.org link with other businesses, partners, suppliers, etc. and help spread the word.
If you have additional questions or would like to talk with a recovery professional about your business continuity needs visit www.agilityrecovery.com or call 866-364-9696.
Posted by Sarah Rixey on Wed, Jan 25, 2012
As part of our comprehensive disaster recovery planning services, Agility Recovery Solutions sends out a free weekly tip through email. If you would like to receive these tips, please sign up here.
Duck, Cover & Hold On
On February 7, 2012, at 10:15 a.m. Pacific time, over one million people will participate in The Great ShakeOut, an earthquake drill that helps people practice how to safely duck, take cover, and hold on in the event of an earthquake.
Here are a few reminders about the upcoming event:
- You don’t need to be in the Central U.S. or California to participate. The quake that shook the East Coast last year reminded us that earthquakes can happen anytime and anywhere. We encourage everyone to participate in the ShakeOut and practice how to stay safe during an earthquake.
- Engage your family and workplace in earthquake safety. There are some important steps your business can take before, during and after an earthquake. Click here to download Agility's Earthquake Preparedness Checklist.
- After the ShakeOut, share your story. Recount your experience on our LinkedIn page - Collaborate. Share. Prepare. The stories you share may inspire someone else to get prepared for an emergency.
If you have additional questions or would like to talk with a recovery professional about your business continuity needs visit www.agilityrecovery.com or call 866-364-9696.
Posted by Sarah Rixey on Thu, Jan 19, 2012
As part of our comprehensive disaster recovery planning services, Agility Recovery Solutions sends out a free weekly tip through email. If you would like to receive these tips, please sign up here.
Stay Afloat
It has been all over the news, “Cruise ship ran aground and capsized Friday off the coast of Italy.” It’s hard to believe, right? Big, established cruise line. Well mapped, familiar waters. A route the ship cruised every week.
The photos are haunting. Lives were lost, people went missing and passengers were forced to evacuate and leave their belongings behind. Thousands stranded with no money, no passport, nowhere to stay and no way to get home. It’s a scary thought.
This tragic event serves as an important reminder to all. While we can’t prevent disasters from happening, we can prepare ourselves and our loved ones for the unexpected. Put together your personal preparedness plan today. Visit www.72hours.org for tips and resources to help you get started.
If you’re an Agility member, make sure to inquire about myAgility Family. It’s a new Personal Preparedness Planning Tool available for free to all of your employees. Email memberservices@agilityrecovery.com for more info.
If you have additional questions or would like to talk with a recovery professional about your business continuity needs visit www.agilityrecovery.com or call 866-364-9696.
Posted by Sarah Rixey on Mon, Jan 16, 2012
As part of our comprehensive disaster recovery planning services, Agility Recovery Solutions sends out a free weekly tip through email. If you would like to receive these tips, please sign up here.
The Results Are In
As some of you may know, last week we launched our new LinkedIn group, The Agility Community. There have been some great discussions and thought provoking questions focused around disaster recovery and emergency preparedness.
In a recent poll we ask our followers, what is the biggest hurdle you must overcome for disaster recovery planning? And as the results below show, gaining support from upper management remains one of the largest obstacles faced by business professionals today.
While disaster recovery planning is often perceived internally as a complex and daunting task, this doesn’t have to be the case. Watch Agility’s archived webinar on securing management support for business continuity and learn the important steps you can take to break through the clutter.
If you have any thoughts or advice on ways to engage management, please click here and submit a comment. We will be addressing other obstacles including time management and budgetary constraints in future posts. Stay tuned!
If you have additional questions or would like to talk with a recovery professional about your business continuity needs visit www.agilityrecovery.com or call 866-364-9696.
Posted by Sarah Rixey on Thu, Jan 12, 2012
As part of our comprehensive disaster recovery planning services, Agility Recovery Solutions sends out a free weekly tip through email. If you would like to receive these tips, please sign up here.
Resolve to be Ready
The New Year is a time for making resolutions for the year to come, leaving regrets behind and starting fresh. As you are thinking of what goals you would like to accomplish this year, we challenge you to make a New Year’s Resolution to be prepared in 2012.
The following initiatives have been put in place to help you stay on track throughout the year. Bookmark them, set a monthly reminder on your calendar and refer back to them as often as you would like.
- FEMA and Ready.gov have launched their annual Resolve to Be Ready campaign encouraging Americans to make emergency preparedness a priority this year. Click here for a list of monthly preparedness activities.
- The Do 1 Thing initiative reiterates that emergency preparedness doesn’t have to be hard or expensive. Click here for access to the web-based, twelve-month program that focuses on a different area of preparedness each month.
- Agility’s weekly tips are designed to simplify the disaster recovery planning process and keep preparedness top of mind. Click here to refer back to previous tips. If you have any topics that you would like Agility to explore in the future, please submit them via our new LinkedIn user group. It's a great forum for sharing ideas and information.
If you have additional questions or would like to talk with a recovery professional about your business continuity needs visit www.agilityrecovery.com or call 866-364-9696.
Posted by Sarah Rixey on Thu, Dec 29, 2011
As part of our comprehensive disaster recovery planning services, Agility Recovery Solutions sends out a free weekly tip through email. If you would like to receive these tips, please sign up here.
The Best of 2011
Join us this week as we revisit our top 10 disaster recovery tips from 2011. We hope you enjoy taking a look back, and picking up a tip or two that you missed the first time around.
10.) Hurricane Season – Hurricane Irene was undoubtedly the most notable storm this season affecting nearly every state on the eastern seaboard.
9.) Crisis Communications – With the influx of natural disasters this year, implementing and effective crisis communication plan has never been so important.
8.) Holiday Travel – During the hype of the holidays, it’s easy to forget the need to prepare your office for subsequent downtime.
7.) The Everyday Disaster – Natural disasters have dominated the headlines this year, nevertheless, 50% of the disasters Agility responded to were due to isolated events that never made the news.
6.) Influenza Preparedness – Flu season, which started in November, has cost employers thousands of dollars in lost revenue and productivity this year.
5.) Extreme Winter Weather – With winter weather currently at bay, it is easy to forget the record breaking storms and brutally cold temperatures we faced back in January.
4.) National Preparedness Month – September was National Preparedness Month, a nationwide initiative designed to help Americans prepare for emergencies. Thank you to those who participated.
3.) Natural Disasters Hammer the U.S. – Severe weather blanketed the United States this past spring with extreme winds, record rainfall and wildfires, reminding us that no state is immune to natural disasters.
2.) Tornado Preparedness – This past April, deadly tornadoes took the nation by storm, devastating communities, homes and businesses throughout the South and Midwest. Tornado preparedness remains top of mind.
1.) Flood Preparedness – From the Mississippi River flooding to the residual effects of Hurricane Irene, this year served as a constant reminder that floods are not only dangerous, but remain the most common and widespread naturally occurring disaster.
If you have additional questions or would like to talk with a recovery professional about your business continuity needs visit www.agilityrecovery.com or call 866-364-9696.
Posted by Sarah Rixey on Wed, Dec 21, 2011
As part of our comprehensive disaster recovery planning services, Agility Recovery Solutions sends out a free weekly tip through email. If you would like to receive these tips, please sign up here.
2011: Year in Review
It’s hard to believe 2011 is coming to an end. On the disaster recovery front, it has been a historic and wild year.
As of today, there have been 98 presidentially declared disasters affecting 45 states and territories. With an onslaught of twisters, floods, snow, drought, heat, wildfires, and even earthquakes on the east coast, the US eclipsed the record for billion-dollar weather related disasters.
As the year comes to a close and we get ready to ring in the New Year, we find value in reflecting on the events that helped shape us over the past 12 months. Click here to watch as Agility’s President and CEO, Bob Boyd provides a recap of the year and well wishes for a prosperous 2012.
From all of us at Agility, we wish you a safe and Happy Holiday.
If you have additional questions or would like to talk with a recovery professional about your business continuity needs visit www.agilityrecovery.com or call 866-364-9696.
Posted by Sarah Rixey on Thu, Dec 15, 2011
As part of our comprehensive disaster recovery planning services, Agility Recovery Solutions sends out a free weekly tip through email. If you would like to receive these tips, please sign up here.
Power Up
As we look back at the various business interruptions our members faced this year, there is an obvious common thread between them all. From hurricanes to tornadoes, floods to blizzards, the main culprit of business downtime remains the loss of power.
This year alone, Agility responded to over 2,500 member alerts and declarations of which, more than 70% involved a power-related issue.
Powering your office requires more than just plugging in a generator. The wrong cooling equipment, cabling, amps and/or volts can leave you with a real problem.
To prevent a power outage from become an overwhelming disaster, download Agility’s Power and Generator Checklist and start preparing your business today.
If you have additional questions or would like to talk with a recovery professional about your business continuity needs visit www.agilityrecovery.com or call 866-364-9696.
Posted by Sarah Rixey on Tue, Dec 06, 2011
As part of our comprehensive disaster recovery planning services, Agility Recovery Solutions sends out a free weekly tip through email. If you would like to receive these tips, please sign up here.
What a Year!
This year alone, Americans have witnessed deadly tornadoes, record-shattering temperatures, unexpected earthquakes, severe droughts, dangerous wildfires, extreme flooding and rare October snowstorms.
As the year comes to a close, we invite you to join us tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. (EST) as we reflect on the dramatic events and disasters of 2011. Register here for our free webinar, “Disaster Recovery Stories – A Summary of Events from 2011”.
Topics will include:
- Real world recoveries and lessons learned
- A retrospective of major events that caused business interruptions
- New trends and technology influencing business continuity planning
- Critical items your organization needs to know in order to be prepared
If you have additional questions or would like to talk with a recovery professional about your business continuity needs visit www.agilityrecovery.com or call 866-364-9696.
Posted by Sarah Rixey on Wed, Nov 30, 2011
As part of our comprehensive disaster recovery planning services, Agility Recovery Solutions sends out a free weekly tip through email. If you would like to receive these tips, please sign up here.
The Wrap Up
Today officially marks the end of hurricane season. The 2011 Atlantic hurricane season produced a total of 19 tropical storms of which seven became hurricanes, including one that made landfall.
Take a glance at the 2011 storm-track map. Click here to enlarge map and view details.
Although the 2011 hurricane season has ended, the need to prepare for various disasters remains year-round activity. In fact, it may surprise you to know that half of Agility’s disaster declarations this year were due to isolated, non-weather related events.
With that being said, we encourage every business to prepare for all types of hazards by making an emergency plan and building a disaster recovery kit.
If you have additional questions or would like to talk with a recovery professional about your business continuity needs visit www.agilityrecovery.com or call 866-364-9696.
