If you are a constant business traveler, chances are you always have your trusty laptop in tow. After all, your laptop is essentially your bread and butter. It has everything that you need.
It’s even safe to say that your laptop is your most crucial travel buddy. Yes, you do not mind traveling alone with no one to chat with. You can even make do of the limited wardrobe in your luggage, given how you can always shop for an outfit should you need something very specific for a meeting or a date with a client.
But your laptop, it should always be within your reach. And it only follows that you do everything in your power to take good care of it. Here are a few tips for you to do just that.
1. Backup your files
Your work trip can easily turn into a disaster due to a lost file. This is perhaps a business traveler’s worst nightmare, losing important reports that took weeks to prepare and are due to be presented to a client within an hour.
That’s a nightmare you need not sleep through. All you need is a foolproof strategy for backing up files. Here free cloud services come in handy, such as OneDrive, iCloud, and Dropbox.
However, your file backup strategy should not end with cloud usage. For very important business files, you may consider signing up with a data backup software provider like Carbonite.
Backing up your files is like securing your most important stuff in a reliable storage unit. You know they’ll still be there upon your return or anytime you might need them.
2. Equip your laptop with a dependable protective cover
Business laptops are different from consumer laptops. The former is designed with prolonged usage and portability in mind. In terms of specs, your options range from the basic, probably equipped with 10th generation Intel processor and 500GB of HD storage, to the advanced, perhaps boasting of 1TB of SSD storage and a 6-cell battery. These sample specs should be enough to give you peace of mind.
To protect the hardware itself, you may opt for a hardshell case. Incase is a well-reviewed brand you might want to look into. Other noteworthy names include Thule, Nacuwa, and Aqua Quest. OtterBox has also made a name for producing tough cases.
3. Use a laptop lock when necessary
Laptop theft is a real risk when traveling, whether for business or leisure purposes. But it’s logically a more distressing threat if your itinerary includes business meetings as opposed to trips to parks and museums. Extra precautions might be necessary for business travelers.
Supposed you’re working in a hotel lobby, giving a campaign deck some finishing touches, and you felt the need to go to the comfort room, you no longer need to be encumbered by your laptop. You can leave it on the table so long as you have a security lock in place.
Using a laptop lock does not make you paranoid. It makes you proactive. This gear attaches your laptop via a cable to something sturdy and immovable.
Make sure to have your combination key saved somewhere safe. Yes, you never know when your memory will fail you. Some of the best-reviewed laptop locks on Amazon come from brands like Ruban, Kensington, and Bestland.
4. Have your laptop insured
Carpe diem, they say. You only live once, they say. These are aphorisms you sadly can’t afford if you’re a business traveler. On a work trip, everything should ideally go as planned.
While you can be extra careful to avoid any untoward incidents while on a business trip, you still don’t know when the stroke of un-luck will decide to bless you. So it’s better to be prepared for all kinds of contingencies.
It would be best if you had all types of insurance at your disposal, from health to luggage insurance. Even your laptop should be insured. You ought not to cheap out on precautionary measures.
According to National Geographic, business travels are down by more than 90 percent in 2020. That is due to the current global pandemic. For most people, the health risks of traveling for business do not outweigh the potential rewards.
But of course, that situation is bound to come to an end. In a matter of months, a reliable vaccine will be introduced and once again things will be back to the old normal. By then work-related travel will see a resurgence. Come that day, you have these business laptop-protection tips to take with you.
