Downtime of any length can be detrimental to any company and is not something that is easily avoided. The best thing you and your company is to make sure that you are prepared. These five IT maintenance tips will help you solve any potential problems before they arise.
1. Manage business assets
Keep track of all of the IT assets within the business. This includes knowing what you’re running and how long there is until these need to be replaced. Collating detailed hardware and software inventory information should also be a priority – this will help when it comes to making decisions on future purchases and making sure you avoid any unnecessary asset upgrades or replacements.
Answering the following key questions can help you get an overview of your assets and capabilities:
- Can your system identify assets that aren’t being used? How much does this represent of your total storage environment?
- Are you collecting usage data for analysis so you can adjust future purchases?
- Can your IT asset management program manage rental equipment?
- How does your asset management system manage service agreements, software licenses and other contracts?
- Does your system account for machines that use different operating systems?
- Can you identify which software titles are used and by whom?
- Do you have access to each asset’s complete history?
A good asset management process ensures that you’re using your IT assets to their full capacity and that you’re prepared to replace an asset that’s approaching the end of its lifecycle.
2. Back data up for faster recovery
Even if your business is small, you can’t afford to spend your valuable time and manpower manually restoring your data. There are plenty of ways to help avoid disruption to your IT and business operations and having these systems/processes in place before disaster strikes makes all the difference. Visit our customised solutions page to find out how we can help.
3. Step up security
Security is another key part of keeping your IT working properly: malicious code can bring a system to its knees in seconds. It can be difficult for businesses to foresee potential IT risks, so you need to maintain a state of vigilance when it comes to your IT security.
Create a comprehensive IT security process that includes effective password policies, regular security software updates and sensible access control. You can’t stop people trying to get in to your systems, but you can make it more difficult and much less likely they gain access by thinking proactively.
4. Be proactive
It’s easier to make sure that your servers stay up than it is to recover from a crash, no matter how good your disaster recovery may be.
Regular hardware audits and physical inspections should be scheduled to help identify if any devices are potential troublemakers. Make sure that your software is maintained as well; any mission-critical software should be kept up-to-date to avoid bugs, crashes and security flaws.
5. Choose the right support partner
Well-rounded IT support services, such as what we at Result IT provide, are often a combination of proactive thinking, good support partnerships and common sense. Keep the five tips mentioned in this article in mind when you’re planning how to evolve your IT infrastructure – and keep your business running at top gear.
Let Us Help
If you feel like you need help or advice with your company’s IT systems, feel free to call us today on(09) 526-1800 or send us an email at info@resultit.co.nz.
