Storm-Proofing Your Business Tech: Lessons from Hurricane Ian
- Will Decatur
- Aug 29
- 6 min read
When Hurricane Ian tore through Southwest Florida in 2022, it wasn’t just homes and streets that were left in ruins — entire businesses were knocked offline. For some, that meant a few days of frustration. For others, it meant the end. I watched companies that had poured years into building their reputations close their doors permanently, not because of the storm’s physical damage, but because their technology failed them when they needed it most.
In today’s world, IT isn’t an afterthought. It’s the backbone of operations. Your ability to communicate, access data, and keep serving customers doesn’t just depend on electricity or a roof over your head — it depends on whether your technology has been built to survive the inevitable.
The Silence That Cost Customers
One of the first things I noticed after Ian passed was the silence. Phones rang endlessly, voicemails piled up, and websites froze in place with outdated information. Clients had no idea which businesses were open, which were closed, or who to turn to. And here’s the harsh reality: when customers can’t reach you, they assume you’re gone.
Some businesses had prepared ahead. One of them was a law firm in Cape Coral that MET Florida had pushed to move operations to the cloud — and thank God they did. When Ian struck, their building lost its roof, and their servers ended up sitting in a puddle of water. But long before the storm made landfall, their team had already evacuated, safely running phones, email, and software from the cloud. When they eventually returned to the office and saw the damage, it was clear they couldn’t go back. Yet the lawyers, assistants, and staff never missed a beat — they worked from home for months, serving clients seamlessly while a new office was secured.
When Data Goes Underwater
Flooding was another silent killer. Hard drives and servers sitting in ground-floor offices were wiped out, and with them, years of business history. Not long after the storm passed, I got a call from the owner of a construction company in Fort Myers, desperate for help restoring files lost during Ian. When I arrived on-site, he handed me a box of hard drives their tech had pulled from the servers — all of them waterlogged and ruined. With no offsite backups, no cloud copies, no safety net, the data was gone. Along with it went projects, client accounts, and critical accounting records that the business would never fully recover.
In contrast, another client with cloud-based backups had their entire staff back online within hours. Their office had water damage too, but the data — the real heart of their business — was untouched. The difference between recovery and collapse wasn’t luck. It was preparation.
The Remote Work Lifeline
Ian also showed us something every Florida business leader should already know: offices aren’t always accessible. Roads flood, power lines come down, and sometimes staff simply can’t make it in. But work doesn’t stop just because a building is closed.
Companies that had invested in remote work tools — VPNs, cloud applications,
remote desktops — were able to pivot almost overnight. I watched a Fort Myers insurance company move its entire operation remote 2 days before the storm hit. Claims were processed from kitchens and living rooms across the state. But here’s the thing, they never even had to call me. No special switch was triggered, no cables to re-route, simply grabbed their laptops and left.
Remote work isn’t about convenience anymore. It’s resilience. It’s the difference between serving your clients in a crisis and leaving them in the dark.
More Than Just Power and Internet
Technology relies on utilities, and when those fail, businesses that haven’t planned are paralyzed. After Ian, companies relying on a single internet provider sat in silence for ten days or more. Others, who had thought ahead with dual ISPs or 4G/5G failover routers, barely missed a step. MET Florida worked with a large Tele-health company during Ian, when the storm hit their power went out, we quickly responded with a generator but their internet provider was out of power too and unable to provide services to the area.
Power backups mattered too. Simple battery units gave companies enough runway to shut down safely or ride out short outages without damage. None of these solutions are flashy, but in a crisis, they’re lifesaving.
Leadership in the Middle of Chaos
One of the clearest lessons Hurricane Ian taught us is that surviving a storm isn’t just about equipment — it’s about leadership. Many businesses had the “right” technology on paper, but when the winds hit and the water rose, no one knew who was supposed to act, what to protect first, or how to get systems back online. They had the tools, but not the direction.
That’s where MET Florida comes in. Our approach to managed IT services isn’t just about keeping systems patched or resetting passwords. It’s about providing experienced leadership — the kind that knows how to prepare, how to respond, and how to guide businesses through the unexpected.
Leadership has been in MET Florida’s DNA from the very beginning. The company is owned by Pamela Reimer, a seasoned entrepreneur with decades of experience running successful businesses. Pamela brings the discipline, strategic vision, and financial insight that keep MET Florida stable and forward-looking — even in the most unpredictable seasons. She knows firsthand the weight of responsibility business owners carry, and she built this company to help lighten that load for others.
On the technology side, I’m Will Decatur, co-founder and CTO. For over twenty years, I’ve specialized in helping businesses solve the problems most IT companies shy away from: complex compliance requirements, large-scale migrations, disaster recovery, and designing custom software systems from the ground up. I’ve led projects worth millions, from building HIPAA-compliant EHR systems to managing enterprise-level infrastructure for local governments. But more than the technology itself, what drives me is making sure businesses never feel powerless — that when a crisis hits, they have someone who knows the next move.
Together, Pamela and I lead MET Florida with a simple principle: storms will come, but your business doesn’t have to go down with them. The real question after a disaster isn’t “When will the lights come back on?” The real question is whether your operations are built to survive without them. With the right systems — cloud backups, redundant communications, and leadership you can lean on — your clients keep trusting you, your team keeps working, and your reputation stays intact.
That’s what MET Florida provides: not just technology, but trusted leadership in the middle of chaos. Check out our Meet MET Florida for more details
A Florida Reality We Can’t Ignore
If you run a business in Florida, you don’t get to treat hurricanes as “maybe.” They are a certainty. Ian wasn’t the first, and it won’t be the last. But the lesson is clear: communication must stay open, data must be protected, remote work must be possible, utilities will fail, and leadership must be ready.
The companies that came out of Ian ahead didn’t do so because they got lucky. They did so because they treated IT as an essential part of their survival, not a line item to cut corners on.
Closing Thoughts
Storm-proofing your technology doesn’t have to be complicated or costly. It just has to be intentional. A few smart investments in communication tools, backup systems, and continuity planning can mean the difference between shutting down and keeping the doors open — even if those doors are virtual.
At MET Florida, we’ve seen firsthand the businesses that crumbled and the ones that thrived. The difference wasn’t the storm. It was the preparation.
Storms will come. The question is whether your business will still be standing — online, connected, and trusted — when they do.
Ready to see the difference? MET Florida can help.
For more information about our Managed IT service and other services check out our service offerings
Running a medical office? MET Florida specializes in medical practices just like yours, check out our Managed HIPAA compliance services.
