Growth & Jobs | Businesses urged to strengthen IT resilience during hurricane season

As the Caribbean navigates another Atlantic hurricane season, businesses are being urged to give their digital infrastructure the same attention they give physical assets, as part of business continuity planning, with one technology expert warning that disruptions to critical systems can be just as damaging as storm-related destruction.

Roldane Henry, infrastructure services lead at MC Systems, said many companies routinely stock emergency supplies, secure buildings and review evacuation procedures. However, he explained that business continuity planning must also prioritise technology resilience, because of its critical role in disaster recovery.

“The lessons from Hurricane Melissa, which impacted sections of western Jamaica in October 2025, demonstrated the importance of ensuring access to critical business systems during and after a disaster,” Henry said.

“Hurricane Melissa highlighted an important reality for businesses across the region. Recovery involves more than repairing buildings and restoring utilities. Organisations also need reliable access to the data and systems that allow them to serve customers, pay employees and maintain operations,” he added.

A business continuity plan (BCP) provides a roadmap for organisations to maintain operations or restore critical functions quickly during emergencies, including natural disasters, power outages and cyberattacks. Such plans typically focus on protecting employees, safeguarding critical data, and minimising service disruptions.

Henry noted that Hurricane Melissa caused widespread power outages, communication failures and infrastructure damage, leaving many businesses unable to access offices or resume normal operations immediately. Businesses that had invested in cloud-based technologies and disaster recovery strategies may have been better positioned to maintain or restore critical services when access to their primary facilities was disrupted, he emphasised.

Henry pointed out that business continuity planning has become increasingly important as organisations grow more dependent on digital platforms to manage payroll, inventory, customer service and internal communications. Extended downtime, he indicated, can disrupt revenue streams, weaken customer confidence, and increase recovery costs, particularly for small and medium-size enterprises.

“Resilient technology infrastructure is now a core component of business continuity planning,” he pointed out. “A resilient technology environment enables organisations to access applications remotely, protect valuable data, maintain communication with employees and customers, and recover systems more quickly after an outage. The objective is not to eliminate every disruption, but to minimise the impact and accelerate recovery.”

He said some Caribbean businesses continue to rely heavily on physical servers located within office facilities. While effective during normal operations, these systems can become vulnerable during disasters when flooding, prolonged power failures or damaged network equipment make critical information inaccessible.

Henry shared that cloud and hybrid infrastructure models provide greater flexibility by distributing applications and data across multiple environments rather than concentrating them in a single location.

“If a business loses access to its main office, employees can continue working from alternative locations, including home or temporary sites, provided systems, connectivity and secure access remain available,” he explained.

He expressed the view that cloud computing has evolved far beyond basic data storage. Modern cloud environments support a wide range of business functions, including payroll systems, financial applications, customer databases, collaboration tools and disaster recovery services.

For businesses operating in a region regularly exposed to tropical storms and hurricanes, that flexibility can significantly improve operational resilience, Henry said.

In addition to physical threats, organisations are also being encouraged to strengthen cybersecurity measures, as part of their disaster recovery planning.

“Severe weather events can create opportunities for cybercriminals,” Henry informed. “Businesses may be managing outages and operational challenges while threat actors take advantage of reduced oversight. Effective resilience planning should include cybersecurity controls such as encryption, system monitoring, access controls, regular updates and employee awareness training.”

He added that organisations can assess whether employees can work remotely, verify that critical data is backed up and regularly tested, and ensure disaster recovery plans are documented and kept up to date.

Henry notes that many businesses only begin reviewing continuity plans after experiencing a major disruption, a practice he described as both costly and avoidable.

“Preparation can significantly reduce the cost and impact of recovery,” he stated. “Business leaders should understand how quickly systems can be restored and what impact an outage would have on customers and operations before a crisis occurs.”

The IT infrastructure lead highlighted that the growing adoption of hybrid infrastructure, which combines on-site systems with cloud-based services, has emerged as a popular strategy among organisations seeking to balance security, compliance requirements and operational flexibility.

According to Henry, organisations that invest in resilience are often best positioned to recover quickly and maintain service delivery during periods of disruption.

“The businesses that recover fastest are typically not those with the newest facilities,” he said. “They are the organisations that planned ahead, invested in resilient systems, and developed strategies to ensure continuity when unexpected events occur.”

He added that customers and employees increasingly expect reliable access to critical services and tools, making technology preparedness a business necessity rather than an operational luxury.

“Resilient IT infrastructure gives businesses greater confidence that critical operations can continue or recover quickly, even in challenging circumstances,” Henry encouraged. “Now is the time for organisations to assess whether their technology is helping them recover quickly or increasing their exposure to risk.”