The IT Planning Pitfalls Your Company Has to Dodge
Managing your business’s IT system is a task that you have to pay close attention to. Gone are the days when the IT system was a nice added extra. These days, the IT system or systems that your business uses are key. They are relied upon each and every day. And doing work as you would like to would not be possible without them. So, you need to be aware of the many things that can go wrong if you are not doing IT planning properly.
There are many mistakes that quickly lead to disaster if your business does not approach this task with the proper care required. The thing is, all of these eventualities are avoidable. Therefore, your business doesn’t need to fall into any of the traps that could spell disaster for it. So, don’t let your business unnecessarily come unstuck just because you are not taking the right approach to IT planning. It doesn’t have to be that way. Here are the IT planning disasters that your company has to dodge, as well as tips on how to do exactly that.
Not Thinking About IT as a Part of Your Wider Business Plan
The IT system that you have in place should never be an afterthought. It should always be something that is at the very heart of your plan for the business. Failing to make that happen will only lead to problems that you don’t want to have to confront. So, when you are preparing your plan for the business, integrate your IT plans too.
If you have an employee inside the business who is responsible for managing your approach to IT, get them involved. Whenever there is a meeting among the business’s managers where you are discussing future plans, make sure IT plays its part. It’s very common for owners to overlook this important aspect of the modern business landscape, but that’s a mistake.
Ignoring Tech Security
The security you have in place is vital. You can’t stay in control of the system as a whole unless the individual pieces of tech equipment are kept secure. This starts by using the best protection and safety software. You should also make sure that your network is secure, meaning that no one outside the business can access it.
Limiting access is not something that should be confined to the network though. You also need to be careful about who you allow to log onto your computers to use your system. Only people who work for the business and are trusted by you should be able to do this. You don’t want any old stranger gaining access. This is the kind of thing that can lead to a security breach or a data leak. So, be very careful.
Failing to Upgrade and Update Correctly
Upgrading and updating your IT system’s components is key. Once your system starts to get old and lag behind, your business will become more vulnerable. That’s not what you want, so be sure to keep pushing and changing things. Whenever you get the feeling that the system is beginning to creak a little, take action and make it modern again.
Updating the software you use is another thing that is vitally important. Whenever a company releases an update or patch, there is a reason for it. It might be the case that they have discovered a bug or a problem in the software. If that’s the case, it’s vital that you get the update that fixes the problem and makes your system secure.
Not Planning for the Worst That Could Happen
For many people, planning for the worst is like admitting defeat. But that’s not the way in which you should look at it. Just because you are thinking about things going wrong, that doesn’t mean they will. However, there is always a slim chance that the very worst does happen. And if that’s the case, isn’t it better to be prepared for how to deal with it?
This is something that you will have to give serious thought to. Being underprepared for a complete crash or meltdown is not a situation you want to find yourself in. And it’s something that is completely avoidable, so you have no excuses. Dealing with a huge breakdown in your IT system is not fun at the best of times, even less so when you have no plan in place.
Going Without Maintenance Support
Maintenance is key for any IT system. It doesn’t matter how good or secure you think your IT system is, it’s never going to be completely safe forever. There will be problems, even if they’re only minor ones, that emerge over time. You need to have the best skills at your disposal in order to fix these problems and keep the system properly maintained.
Without the right maintenance support, your system will become gradually worse and less efficient. This is something that you will notice as your employees become less productive and fail to do their work to the standard you’d like. You can hire someone to take care of this task in-house. Alternatively, you could use a managed service provider if you want to save cash.
Being Reactive Rather Than Proactive
You shouldn’t be reacting to every little problem that your IT system faces. Unfortunately, this is what many businesses do. Rather than being reactive all the time, you should try to manage your IT system in a way that is a little more proactive. This means taking steps to mitigate risks and stop damage rather than just waiting for something to go wrong.
It takes planning and forward-thinking if you are going to do this successfully. Don’t let that put you off. It will save the company lots of hassle if you do take steps to stop things going wrong. Prevention is always better than cure. That might be true in the medical industry, but it’s just as true for your business’s IT system as well.
Failing to Back Up Adequately
Backing up is essential if you are going to keep your business ticking over. There are so many threats out there, and if any of those threats hit your business, its data could be lost or damaged. It’s not just about cyber threats either. Something like a flood or a fire could render your hard drives completely useless, and data will be lost forever.
That’s why backing up your important data and information is so vitally important. When you fail to do this, you will fail to make your business as secure as it should be. Ideally, you should use an off-site backup system. This is the best option because then you won’t have to worry about fires or floods in your office ruining your backups too.
Underusing Technology
If you have technology in your office, it makes sense to use it properly. The underuse of technology leads to two key problems. First of all, you will lag behind the competition by failing to take advantage of the things at your disposal. So, you need to think carefully about what you can do to use your technology better.
On top of that, by underusing your IT and technology resources, you will be wasting money. Everything your business spends needs to give you some kind of return. And we all know how expensive it can be to have the best technology in use inside your company. If you’re not using it properly, the money you spent on it will go to waste.
Not Outsourcing Some IT Tasks
There are lots of IT tasks that you could outsource if you wanted to. This is something that you need to give plenty of thought to if you want to run your IT operations in an efficient way. There is no way you can look after every little thing properly. Therefore, it makes sense to get a little outside help to keep things moving along smoothly.
We’ve already looked at how you need IT support to keep things running smoothly. But what about things like blocking hacks and stopping dangerous viruses? These things can all be outsourced to agencies that are experts at dealing with this kind of thing. Operations like data entry are often outsourced too. That happens because they take up time and resources.
Choosing a Bad Host for Your Website
Finally, you need to think about the services you use to keep your business’s website functional. This is not a conventional form of IT planning. But it will certainly affect the IT work that your employees do in the office each day. These days, all businesses have a website that they rely on. Whether you work in sales or run a restaurant, having an active and strong website is key.
It’s no longer acceptable to use any old host. When there are so many different website hosting services out there, the decision becomes more difficult. On the one hand, having lots of options is good. On the other hand, there are more bad hosts than ever before. So, always do your research and make your decision carefully.
