Back to Work After the Holidays, Time to Review Your IT
The children are back at school, and the staff requests to work from home have died down; autumn is the time to review your IT. With the sales season and Black Friday just around the corner, knowing which items you need for the business will mean making better, more targeted choices and more significant savings. Looking at the general health of your IT system and keeping a finger on the pulse of new technology will mean your IT works for you rather than frustrate you.
Audit and Review Your IT Systems and Strategy
An annual IT equipment and software audit will allow you to make prompt changes before they break down and need replacing in an emergency. It will also help you keep track of upgrades and replacements. A simple audit will mean taking account of your current units and who has access to what areas of IT. As part of this, you can include a review of your current IT cover. Are you paying too much and using too little, or vice versa? Having an IT strategy to ensure you cover the business aims, objectives and goals is an innovative idea. However, it needs regularly review to grow with the company.
Hardware Audit and Review
Do all your staff have access to a workstation/laptop? Is it a current model? Does it need replacing or a simple upgrade? Hard drive capacity can be alleviated by upgrading or moving data to a cloud. Equally expanding RAM can help those with power-hungry software.
Is the office printer/copier working as it should? Make it a point to check cables and peripherals for wear and tear for health and safety. Are the mouse, keyboard, and chair, at each workstation ergonomically evaluated for each user?
Most IT equipment items will need replacing regularly. Generally, 3-5 years is considered reasonable. However, a well-planned hardware system can support a business throughout its lifetime, with changes made gradually.
Software Audit and Review
Are your colleagues using all the software to which they have access? Money could be saved if a particular program is no longer needed, or a number could be combined in one bespoke package. Has the software been kept up to date?
Review Your IT Training
Do your staff have all the IT skills needed for their job? IT training can speed things up and increase productivity. Keeping up to date with new features of Microsoft 365 and other software is easier if a regular training program is in place.
Review Your IT security
One area of concern for any business is cyber security. Breaches of GDPR can lead to severe fines and loss of your customer's trust. Never let your IT security lapse. Have a security policy in place and review it regularly. Antivirus, Malware and data security software should be updated and monitored. Have back-ups, firewalls and bit locker protection in place on your IT system and your website, especially if you collect data from it.
Need Help Reviewing Your IT?
Here at Cynetix, we can understand your IT infrastructure. Our hardware and software engineers can quickly review your systems and ensure there are no gaps in the system, that all software is backed-up and secure, and that your IT runs smoothly.
