As a small business, managing and setting up your IT infrastructure can seem quite daunting. IT is an extremely important part of every business, and you want to make sure you are doing it right. Whether you’re interested in Full IT Support or Remote IT Support Solutions, there will be an option that best fits you. Below are 3 critical mistakes that many small businesses have made with their IT. Make sure you’re protecting yourself by avoiding these mistakes.
‘Saving Money’ when Purchasing Hardware
In reality, trying to save money on hardware, can end up costing you greatly more in the long term. Let’s say a business purchases several laptops for their employees, at $350 each. In an office setting, these laptops will be able to perform all the tasks you’re likely to need it to perform, and may even be able to handle some higher demand tasks – but only for so long. If you have such an IT Support Partner, for instance, you’re living in the UK, you can speak to any Managed Services Provider London businesses trust and get their opinion on saving money on hardware. It may seem obvious, but it is always worth remembering that a $600 – $700 laptop will have higher-quality parts, and better-built quality – therefore, it will likely last longer than a laptop half its price.
There are other ways in which investing in hardware pays dividends. For example, a more expensive laptop will have a better quality screen, thus reducing the risk of eye strain after a long day of use.
Not Upgrading Soon Enough (or Skipping Upgrades)
Whilst investing more money into hardware means you’ll get more years of use from it, it must also be said that no hardware has an infinite lifecycle – whether it is sooner or later, all technology must be upgraded.
Overextending the life cycle of technology can have varying levels of risk associated, depending on what technology you’re using. Overextending the lifecycle of a computer used for admin purposes means risking downtime due to the computer freezing, or simply taking too long on important tasks. On the other hand, over-extending the lifecycle of an outdated version of the software could mean anything from reduced productivity to opening your business up to cyber attacks due to vulnerabilities in that specific version of the software. At the most extreme end of the spectrum, over-extending the lifecycle of a server is means risking breakdown, which could cripple your business for an indefinite amount of time.
There is a flip side to this principle. For example, skipping an upgrade – e.g. upgrading to the newest version of software – could also have ramifications. For instance, the latest version of the software might require a much higher specification of hardware to run properly – thus forcing you to buy new hardware alongside buying new software. Choosing a patch update for whichever version you’re currently using could be a more cost-effective way of maintaining software efficiency.
Assuming Smaller Businesses are a Smaller Target
You hear about cyber attacks on big businesses all the time. There are a number of companies using IT Support who are needing to beef up their security – those who use IT Support for Financial Services in particular. It may be tempting to assume that, as a smaller business, you are a smaller or less valuable target than bigger businesses. You may use this as justification for spending less money than you should on proper cyber security. In fact, security has become the most pressing issue for IT infrastructures in recent years. By not investing in the proper security measures, you’re not only risking attacks from malicious agents, but you’re putting yourself at risk of legal attacks – especially if you are dealing with customer data as part of your business.
