Signs Your Business Needs Better IT

If there’s one thing that small businesses tend to struggle with it’s IT. Right now, you’ve probably got your own IT guy. But given how complicated IT tends to be these days, one guy just isn’t enough. You have to deal with email, productivity software and perhaps even your own systems. It can all quickly become a complete mess. And before you know it, your company is teetering on the brink.

It’s best not to get into this situation at all. Here are some signs that your business needs to invest in better IT.

You’re Still Using Windows XP

Since Windows XP we’ve seen four new models of Windows. Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 10. (They skipped Windows 9). And with each new iteration we’ve seen big improvements in performance, stability and productivity. The only reason a business would still be using Windows XP is if it has fallen way behind with its IT.

There’s now a million reasons to leave XP in the past. First of all, there are all the usual compatibility issues with using legacy software. Second, the platform itself was good for its time. But newer platforms are more stable. And third, you miss out on a lot of the new features of newer versions of Windows that can improve the productivity of your staff.

Your Data Isn’t Backed Up

In this digital age, data is becoming more and more mission critical. Every business should have a backup of its critical data, just in case the worst happens. And this has never been easier to achieve. All companies need to do these days is find a cloud service.

Sites like computer-eyez.com do a good job of explaining the type of services out there. There’s everything from cloud management to data backup and security.

You’re Still Spending Lots Of Money On Hardware

In the past, businesses spent a lot of money on computer equipment. They had to. After all, internet speeds were slow, and there were no server farms. Fast forward to 2016, and things are radically different. Most businesses can get access to internet connection speeds in the tens, if not hundreds of megabit per second. And data servers are ubiquitous.

Sure, you might have been pursued to buy expensive hardware by a smiling salesperson. But this is not the most efficient way for you to do your IT. Now the emphasis is far more on outsourcing your data and even your systems to third party companies. Why? Because it’s cheaper, faster and more secure to do it this way. And it lets you get on with your business.

You’re Constantly Troubleshooting

Back in the early days of computing in business, troubleshooting was a fact of life. Systems were immature and prone to disaster. But that’s just not true anymore. Systems have become a lot more advanced over the last decade. And they’re just not as prone to problems as they once were. If you find yourself constantly having to troubleshoot, it’s probably a sign that your business needs IT support. You should be getting on with your work, not fixing printers and scanners.