As we’re tapping on our keyboard at the office or at home, we usually take it for granted that our computer will always turn on and access to our files will always be there. But what do you do when your network goes down and you’re left without access to your files, programs and the Internet?
The thing you shouldn’t do is panic or get angry. Don’t start banging on the computer, thinking it will magically come back to life. Start by trying to identify the cause of the problem. Gather as many details as possible to share with your IT department or company. Is it an isolated case or are all computers down? Is it just the company email that is down, or is there no Internet access at all? Is there any indication of a virus? Once you’ve gathered the details, relay them to your IT managers, and then apprise company employees what is happening.
At this point, most of the responsibility is now in the hands of your IT managers to restore functionality. Hopefully, they have a good recovery plan that will help to troubleshoot the problem and allow staff to get back to work as soon as possible. During that time employees should hopefully have other ways to work and keep them busy while they are being given updates.
Once your network is up and running again and everyone has resumed productivity it would be worth it to take the time to review your recovery plan to discuss if it effectively served its purpose. Make any improvements if necessary. If your network failed and you didn’t have a recovery plan to help you take immediate action, consider partnering with an IT company like ICC to put one together. A recovery plan will put you in an advantageous position if your network goes down again.
ICC can help you prepare a recovery plan, and play a critical role in the implementation of the plan, technology and any future troubleshooting. ICC conducts a number of audits and tests, as well as put tactics in place, to protect your data and most importantly – have the ability to restore it. At a minimum, a comprehensive recovery plan should include network security, email security, security patches & updates, employee education, backups and quarterly cybersecurity reviews to boost your defenses against cybercriminals and lost data.
When you have a plan in place it’ll be easier to remain calm when/if your network goes down again and restore it as efficiently and as quickly as possible.
October 19, 2022
