National Preparedness Month

As you may know, we believe preparedness is something to be embraced, not feared. Each September, FEMA reminds us of the importance of preparedness for businesses and families alike through National Preparedness Month. Business continuity and disaster recovery are critical to maintaining resilience and preparing for any interruption, whether that’s a natural disaster, a pandemic, or squirrels chewing through power lines (believe it or not, squirrels cause more damage to critical infrastructure than cyberattacks). Consider a few recent statistics: 

• 75% of Agility customers activated their business continuity plan within the last year.

• 98% of Agility customers believe organizations should exercise/test plans at least annually.

• 90% of resiliency professionals see risks increasing over the next three years, with cyberattacks, the economy, supply chain, and climate change topping the list (Making Operational Resilience a Competitive Advantage, The Conference Board, 2023).

• The average cost of a data breach is $4.45 million (Cost of Data Breach Report, IBM & Ponemon Institute, 2023).

• As of August 8, there have been 15 weather- and climate-related disaster events with losses exceeding $1 billion each and resulting in 113 deaths. This does not yet include Central severe weather in June, Vermont and New Hampshire flooding in July, the Midwest/Southern drought, or Hurricane Idalia. (NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information U.S. Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters, 2023).

Every day of the year at Agility, we celebrate and dedicate ourselves to preparedness and resilience. Our customers and their communities rely on business continuity planning, training, and testing to ensure preparedness for any interruption and call on us to deploy critical equipment like backup power, mobile recovery and banking units, technology, and more. 

To recognize National Preparedness Month, we’ll post on our LinkedIn, Twitter (X), and Facebook pages, and have put together some great resources for you: 

• National Preparedness Month Kit (includes our top checklists and guides)

• Webinar: Crisis Preparedness: Developing a Prevention and Response Plan

• Business How To’s for National Preparedness Month 

• How to Promote & Implement Workforce Safety During National Preparedness Month 

This and every month, we hope you will take the time to examine the plans and processes in place at your own organization so you’ll be prepared to sprint into action when – not if – an interruption occurs. As always, we’re just a quick phone call or email away to help. 

• Call us: 866-364-9696 

• Email us: [email protected]  

Best Regards, 

Jon Bahl 
CEO, Agility