Faculty and staff should take responsibility for preparing their work area for the storm. We recommend units designate a staff member to prepare common areas and areas of faculty and staff who are out of the office.
Please see the Preparation Checklist below for a detailed list of how to prepare your equipment.
Software and software licenses are also important to protect. Rain and wind can completely destroy books and media. In addition such items can become projectiles during the storm and cause damage or end up miles from their starting location. If lost, proof of legal ownership has now vanished. If time allows, collect all of your software manuals and media and place them in a secure location. Placing them inside a locked cabinet or drawer will help keep them dry and secure.
Just like the damage it can cause to equipment and software, a storm can ruin media, thumb drives and other devices that are storing important data. This can result in hours of lost work and recovery to get you back up and running once the storm has passed. Most data storage devices are portable and can be easily placed in secure locations. Keeping in mind the tips above regarding water and wind damage, find a secure location for any data assets. It is recommended to make a backup copy of any important data to a network drive or shared folder. For all data stored on UCF IT-managed network storage, UCF IT has already taken the appropriate steps to ensure that data is safe and secure.
Preparation Checklist
When you are returning to the office for the first time after a storm, the clean-up effort to get things back up and running can be tedious. When dealing with computer equipment, please take the following into consideration:
Additional Questions?
We hope these tips are helpful as you prepare for the storm. Please reach out to the UCF IT Support Center with any questions or concerns. We are happy to help!