5 COMMON IT MISTAKES THAT BUSINESSES MAKE

Avoid these common IT mistakes by preparing and making well-planned IT decisions that will affect daily operations, as well as long-term success. 

  1. Lack of Network Policies
    • Having secure policies in place ensure that all your employees understand what is expected of them and what is not allowed. By providing clear and understandable policies, the risk of malware, stolen data and viruses are minimized.
  2. Not having a plan for your growing business     
    • As your company grows and is successful, how does this change your network infrastructure? Is your system equipped to take on additional employee usage, more email storage, and data filing?  Is your bandwidth able to support the business growth? These are areas that need to be discussed in advance so that when the time comes to expand, you are ready!
  3. Not updating or upgrading software or hardware
    • Software companies provide updates to their product to keep you working efficiently and securely. By not installing updates to your software, you are putting yourself at risk for potential threats to your data.
    • Hardware also needs to be taken into consideration. Most hardware will only last about 5 years.  After 5 years, performance of the older technology really becomes painful. That means your older equipment may not be compatible with newer equipment or software. In addition, the older equipment may no longer be supported for maintenance.
  4. Underestimating Backup Storage and Business Continuity
    • Many companies continue to use tape backup drives that are taken home with an employee each night. But how often to you test those backup files? And how quickly can you retrieve and restore data from those backup drives? While this is still a viable option, reviewing alternative backup options should be considered.
    • Most importantly, you should establish what an acceptable amount of downtime is and tailor your backup solution accordingly.  Some businesses can’t be down more than 30 minutes, others can be down for a day or two and still function with little or no cost. There is no correct answer that applies to all businesses.  The correct answer comes from understanding the costs involved with IT systems being down. If this means 5 engineers can’t access the systems to do their work and they all have a salary of $60k a year, every hour of down time costs around $200 (including benefits and taxes).  This doesn’t include the cost of lost sales. 
  5. Warranty and Service Agreements Have Expired
    • Most software and hardware come with a 1-year warranty on the product. But many companies do not realize they have a warranty or do not realize their warranty runs out. Same goes for servicing your network. If you do not have an active service/maintenance agreement in place, your business runs the risk of downtime or product failure.

Choosing the right IT partner is vital for your business. By understanding how your company currently uses technology and your plans for future growth, River Run can provide the maintenance and networking needs to keep your business moving forward.

 

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