Hurricane Season IT Preparedness Checklist for South Florida Businesses

The most important IT steps to take before hurricane season are: confirm you have a recent, tested backup stored off-site or in the cloud; make sure staff can work remotely with secure access; protect equipment from power surges and water; and write down a simple plan with contacts, responsibilities and recovery steps. Doing this in May or early June, before a storm is on the map, is far easier than doing it under a watch.

The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30. For businesses in Miami-Dade, Broward and the rest of South Florida, it is a yearly reality. Use this checklist to prepare your technology in stages.

Before the Season Starts

1. Verify your backups

A backup you have never restored is a hope, not a plan. Before the season:

• Confirm every critical system is backed up: file shares, servers, line-of-business databases, and cloud data such as Microsoft 365 mailboxes and OneDrive
• Keep at least one copy off-site, ideally in a different geographic region
• Perform a test restore of real files and, if possible, a full server
• Document how long a full restore actually takes

The widely used 3-2-1 approach is a good baseline: three copies of your data, on two different types of storage, with one copy off-site.

2. Prepare for remote work

If your office is closed or without power for several days, your team needs to work from somewhere else.

• Make sure laptops are updated, encrypted and protected with multi-factor authentication
• Test VPN or remote desktop access from home connections before you need it
• Confirm that phones can be forwarded to cell phones or a cloud phone system
• Move shared files to a cloud platform if staff still depend on an on-site file server

Our remote IT support team can help users get connected from anywhere.

3. Document everything

Create a short continuity document and store it in at least two places, including one that does not depend on your office network:

• Key contacts: IT provider, internet provider, utility, landlord, insurance
• Admin account owners and where credentials are securely stored
• A list of critical systems in the order they should be restored
• Instructions for staff: how to log in remotely, who to call, where updates will be posted

When a Storm Is Approaching

Once a storm is forecast to affect the area, work through these steps:

1. Run a fresh backup and confirm it completed successfully.
2. Communicate with staff about remote work expectations and how to reach IT.
3. Shut down non-essential equipment in an orderly way rather than letting it lose power abruptly.
4. Unplug and elevate desktops, printers and network gear away from windows and off the floor.
5. Cover equipment with plastic sheeting to reduce water exposure.
6. Take photos of your equipment setup for insurance and for reconnecting later.
7. Charge laptops, phones and battery packs.

On-Site Servers vs. Cloud: Storm Resilience

Consideration	On-site server only	Cloud or hosted systems
Office loses power	Systems unavailable	Systems stay online
Flooding or wind damage	Hardware at risk	Hardware in a remote data center
Remote access	Depends on office internet	Available from any connection
Recovery effort	Physical repair or replacement	Mostly user reconnection
Ongoing control	Full local control	Shared responsibility with provider

Many businesses find a hybrid approach works best: critical applications and files in the cloud, with a smaller local footprint. Our cloud and dedicated server options can help you plan that move.

Power Protection Basics

Power problems often cause more damage than wind. Before the season:

• Install a UPS (uninterruptible power supply) on servers, firewalls and network switches
• Configure the UPS to signal servers to shut down gracefully when the battery runs low
• Replace UPS batteries that are near the end of their service life
• Use quality surge protectors for workstations

After the Storm

When it is safe to return:

1. Inspect equipment for water damage before powering anything on.
2. Bring up the network first (internet, firewall, switches), then servers, then workstations.
3. Check that backups resumed and that critical applications work.
4. Watch for storm-related phishing emails, which often impersonate relief agencies, insurers or utilities.
5. Record what worked and what did not, and update your plan.

FAQ

How often should we test our backups?

At least once before each hurricane season, and ideally on a regular schedule throughout the year. Test both individual file restores and a full system restore.

Is cloud backup enough on its own?

Cloud backup is an excellent off-site copy, but restoring large amounts of data over the internet can take time. Many businesses keep a local copy for fast restores and a cloud copy for disaster recovery.

What should a small office do if it has no IT staff?

Start with the basics in this checklist: tested backups, remote access and a written contact list. An outside IT provider can handle the technical steps and help you build the plan.

Prepare Before the Next Storm

Core Florida IT works with businesses across Miami-Dade and South Florida to prepare their technology for hurricane season. Our free IT assessment reviews your backups, power protection and remote work readiness and gives you a clear list of what to fix first. Request your free IT assessment.