Member Article

Managing your IT infrastructure

Regardless of the size of the business, almost every company today has to learn how to manage its IT. Whether it’s a single laptop or a whole computer network, a business cannot function without properly managing its devices. This can become difficult when many small business owners lack the knowledge or the funds to help them effectively take care of their business’ tech needs.

Often small businesses purchase PCs with pre-packaged software but then fail to maintain the technology. Over time, PCs get slower and employees become increasingly frustrated when it takes longer to do their work. It’s very common to postpone calling for help –people will often put up with a bad computing experience for a long time. Eventually something will go wrong or break and they call for help, but having left it too late, it’s often extremely costly to fix the problem at this point.

If you’re running a small business, here are some ideas on how to efficiently and cost effectively manage your IT and save yourself a lot of frustration and money too:

1. Stay safe and secure. Security is essential to any business which is why this point is top of the list. This may sound trivial, but it’s surprising how many people don’t even take care of the basics. Ensure every company machine has installed an antivirus and update software on a regular basis to protect against new threats.

2. Don’t install “stuff.“ The web is full of innocent-looking add-ons of various kinds which appear harmless, but which can actually compromise the device. These apps are often not detected by anti-virus software, so it’s vital to educate all employees not to install any software they don’t need or run into while browsing the web.

3. Use existing built-in Windows tools. For the most part, computers come with a range of Windows tools built-in, so don’t forget to use them! The security tools, including Windows updates, backup and antivirus are vital to keep your machines safe, up-to-date and virus-free. Plus they won’t cost you a penny as they’re free with the Windows OS.

4. Have a backup outside the office. Even if you back up your machines on a regular basis locally, it’s not enough. It’s essential that you also have a backup outside of your office, either on the cloud or an external media. If the unthinkable happens, and your machines get stolen in a burglary or destroyed in a fire or flood, then having a backup in another location can save you from losing everything. Nowadays, cloud backup services are simpler and more accessible than ever.

5. Secure your Wi-Fi network. Stop other people from slowing down your work Wi-Fi by protecting your network and making it only accessible to those with the password. Also, by securing your Wi-Fi you can reduce the risk of hackers and protect yourself from random people using your IP address for illegal or unfavorable purposes.

6. Give your PC a break. Turning off machines at night and over the weekend can reduce their overall usage and wear, which can prolong their functional life and make them last longer. You will also reduce your electricity bill – it’s incredible how much it costs to run a bunch of devices 24/7.

7. Use Soluto to manage all of your company PCs. With Soluto for Business, you can remotely manage all your company PCs and make sure they are always up-to-date, protected, starting fast and working well. You will receive alerts whenever one of your company’s computers encounters an issue or needs your attention so you can take care of business while Soluto keeps an eye on your machines.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Soluto .