Are you comfortable right now? No, not comfortable at home in an easy chair—are you comfortable with your company’s complete IT environment? From system security and disaster recovery to everyday efficiency and reliability, are you confident your IT environment is working, balanced and harmonious?
If you’re feeling uncomfortable, it’s time to get back to your IT comfort zone—and that means getting back to consistently reliable IT stability. Here’s what it looks like…
Maximized Workflow
How efficient are your employees? Does your team have access to up-to-date and properly functioning mobile devices, laptops, systems and software? Is an unreliable IT environment preventing your employees from doing their jobs?
Stable IT ensures your bottom line is never compromised. Your IT should meet and exceed the day-to-day demands of your company’s workload, fostering a positive and stable IT environment your team can count on to get the job done.
Network Security
Cyber criminals target organizations rather than individuals more often because the profits are far greater. What is your IT team doing to secure is your network and protect sensitive customer data?
Network security is one of the most important functions of your IT department. A secure network is one of your company’s greatest assets—protecting your sensitive data from theft and exploitation.
Data Protection
Old hardware will fail, software becomes out-of-date or obsolete, power surges can fry electronics and natural disasters such as fires, floods and tornadoes can all damage a company’s ability to operate. Statistics show that when a company loses its data completely—regardless of the reason—that company is likely to fail within six months. Does your company have a data backup plan that ensures stability and security?
If worse comes to worst, your data recovery plan will safeguard the data you need to run your business. With regular backups in place, you can ensure your data is up-to-date and recoverable to get your business up and running as quickly as possible.
Proactive Monitoring
Think of this as your company’s digital immune system. Proactive monitoring means your IT environment is constantly observed and examined by your IT department, using various security programs, tools and preventative safety measures. If your IT guys are doing their jobs right, they will not only monitor the security of your network infrastructure, but they’ll have fast-acting countermeasures in place, allowing them to solve most problems before they become major concerns.
This means literally being prepared for any and all scenarios. You need to know what your IT team is doing to protect your company’s network, as well as how effective they are as guardians of your systems.
Best Practices
Being within the boundaries of your company’s IT comfort zone doesn’t mean that your IT department has to reinvent the wheel. The technology industry offers a lot of options and solutions for all of your company’s technology needs, but not all are created equal. Utilizing industry best practices is key to your company’s continued IT success.
IT Strategic Planning
Knowing which technologies to invest in and how often upgrades for hardware, software, OS and technology expansions are required (and when to do so) are all a part of a successful strategic IT plan. Finding that balance and investing in the right IT at the right times will keep your company current, productive, relevant and ahead of the competition without compromising your bottom line.
Once you know where your IT falls on your comfort scale, you can implement a plan to get your company’s IT operating right in the sweet spot—your IT comfort zone.