What to do when the lights and broadband go down! - The importance of business continuity plans for SMEs
Storm Éowyn hit earlier this year in Ireland and we were struck with gusting winds; torrential rain and the impact was wide-reaching and lasting. The devastation was immediate, within hours power lines were down, and broadband connections were cut leaving businesses across the country scrambling to stay operational.
Over 725,000 homes and businesses were without power in Ireland as result of the Storm (Source: The Guardian, January 2025). In addition, 285,000 households and businesses in Northern Ireland lost power during the storm and damage was caused to various buildings. Broadband services were also affected. (Source: BBC News, February 2025). The Minister for Enterprise, Tourism, and Employment in Ireland, Minister Burke commented at the time: “Many businesses have faced substantial impacts, including property damage, stock loss and operational disruptions due to power, water, and communication outages. Specific ongoing challenges that the Local Enterprise Offices in the most impacted counties have highlighted to me over recent days include structural damage to business premises, trading disruptions, loss of earnings and the need to incur unexpected expenditures in response to the impact of the storm. (Source: Enterprise.gov., Feb 2025)
While Storm Éowyn passed within a few hours, its impact was felt for many weeks by a large number of businesses. It is this notion of, “trading disruptions and loss of earnings” that we seek to address in this blog which explores how simple power outages can disrupt the day to day running of your business and asks SMEs to consider business continuity planning options around broadband solutions and power outages.
What a Power Outage might mean for Your SME
Power outages affect all businesses. We rely so heavily on technology in a myriad of ways to run our businesses. It’s a fundamental part of our business operations and therefore we must consider how we can plan for a failure or outage.
Power outages and broadband outages often go hand in hand. When the power goes down, it doesn’t just affect the lights; it can also cut off your internet connection. That’s because most broadband equipment, like routers and network switches, rely on electricity to work. So even if your broadband provider is still up and running, your local setup won’t work without power. This is why it’s important to plan for both when thinking about how your business would keep going during an outage.
For an individual or family having your broadband go down is annoying, frustrating (or if you have young children, quite possibly the end of the world!) but as a business the disruption is frustrating at best and financially damaging at worst.
Imagine you’re running a busy café or hotel and you have a line of customers queuing at the till, but you can’t process a single card payment. In addition, the regular remote workers who use your premises day in and day out to hot desk can’t access your free wi-fi and feel frustrated and have to go home. The experience leaving a sour taste in their mouth, and one that they will share with others either online or in-person. Perhaps, you have a corporate booking that relies on Wi-Fi to deliver their event which compromises of presentations dependent on the connection.
Or picture a professional services firm, maybe a legal practice or accountancy office without a stable internet connection staff can’t access files, update case notes, sign digital documents or respond to clients in real time.
Keeping the Lights (and the Business) On
After Storm Éowyn, there was a sharp rise in demand for backup power solutions like generators. Many companies realised how vulnerable they were without a reliable power source. Hardware suppliers and electrical firms reported a spike in enquiries, especially from small businesses looking to stay operational during future outages. As one business owner told The Irish Times, “You can’t afford to go dark anymore – not even for a day.” (The Irish Times, February 2025).
Backup Generators
If your business can’t afford to go offline – think retail, hospitality, or healthcare a generator may be the answer. They are installed on-site and triggered automatically during an outage, it can keep essential systems running for hours (or days), depending on the fuel type and capacity. They’re an investment, but one that can pay for itself in just a single storm season.
If I have a generator, will my broadband work as well?
Having a generator can keep your lights and devices running during a power cut - but that doesn’t always mean your broadband will work too. Your Wi-Fi router might have power, but if the local internet infrastructure (like street cabinets or exchange points) is also affected by the outage, you may still lose connection. Broadband networks rely on powered equipment both in your premises and on the provider’s side to operate fully. The alternative is to source a Broadband backup solution.
Why Every Business Needs a Failover Broadband Solution
Most businesses rely on a single broadband provider. It works great, until it doesn’t. The problem is outages don’t come with a warning. A nearby roadworks can slice through a fibre cable, a thunderstorm can bring down power lines or even a faulty router can knock out your connectivity for hours.
Without a failover solution (something that kicks in when the primary service fails) downtime becomes inevitable. And while a few minutes of disruption might be manageable, hours or days of downtime can have long-last financial and reputational consequences. With many businesses moving away from traditional phones and opting for VOIP systems, a broadband failure will also mean that you will have no method of communication with your customers and suppliers.
Broadband Backups: What Are Your Options?
The ‘go-to’ option for many businesses is to rely on cellular data such as using your mobile phone as a Wi-Fi hotspot. While this may work for an individual, it will not be suitable for large organisations or in some business environments like retail and healthcare.
The simplest and most effective way to avoid broadband blackouts is to have a secondary internet connection, one that takes over automatically if your main line goes down. For a small monthly outlay you have a failback solution that starts if the other one stops.
There are a few key options:
4G/5G Failover
Mobile network connectivity has come a long way. With a 4G or 5G router, your business can instantly switch to a mobile broadband connection if your main provider fails. These routers are compact, affordable, and surprisingly fast - perfect for keeping cloud apps, email, and payment systems online. Check out what coverage is like in your area via this link.
Starlink Satellite Internet
For businesses in more rural or hard-to-reach areas, Starlink offers a powerful alternative. Using low-orbit satellites, Starlink provides high-speed, low-latency broadband anywhere in Ireland. It’s an ideal backup for locations where traditional broadband is slow, unreliable, or prone to outages.
Firewalls That Do More Than Block Threats
But it’s not enough to have two connections, you need a way to switch between them automatically without disruption. That’s where a managed firewall comes in.
At Perita, our managed firewall service doesn’t just protect your network from online threats. It also monitors your broadband connection in real time. If your main line fails, the firewall automatically diverts all traffic to the backup and switches back once the main line is restored. No fiddling with cables, no phone calls to tech support - just seamless continuity.
Final Thoughts: What’s Your Backup Plan?
We can’t forecast what a power outage might look like, or when it might happen but there are number of questions, we’d ask you to consider as a starting point:
- Does my business have a backup power supply? Can our critical equipment (like servers, tills, or fridges) keep running for a short time?
- How long could we realistically operate without power before we lose money or customers?
- Do my staff know what to do in a power cut? Have you got a simple plan or checklist that they can follow?
- Who would I call for help if something went wrong? Do you have your IT provider’s emergency contact details saved somewhere safe?
Business continuity planning doesn’t need to be complex. At Perita, we specialise in helping SMEs get the most from their technology. Our people-first approach means we take the time to understand your business and create a solution that works for you and your team. Whether it’s managed firewalls or broadband failover with 4G or Starlink, we’ll help you stay one step ahead and put helpful measures in place.
Need help getting started?
We believe small businesses deserve IT support that’s built around their needs. If you want to discuss how we can help your small business get in touch to book a discovery call:
Email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
