Seven Questions You Should Answer About Your IT Department
We know that a large number of our readers are entrepreneurs and small-business owners who DIY their own IT and, to be fair, I totally get it. I’m also a small business owner and I serve as the default Department Director for areas that I don’t have formal training for. I have to do most of the HR, Marketing, and Accounting work myself, but I am very much looking forward to the day when I can afford to hand these responsibilities off to trained professionals. I am certain that they can do a better job than I can.
But we all have to do what we can until we get to that day, right? If you are DIY’ing your IT, here are a few questions from an expert to consider when you are evaluating your current IT setup:
1. Do I have professional-grade cybersecurity tools in place?
Lots of computers come with some basic cybersecurity tools, but they may not get updated as often or detect as many threats as professional tools. Regardless of what you have, make sure your subscription is up to date.
2. Do I have a safe copy of all my data in case I get hacked?
If the only place that you have your files backed up is on Google Drive or Microsoft OneDrive, you’re in a risky position. Once they gain access, hackers often lock users out of these accounts, and recovering them can take a very long time.
3. What’s the plan if I wake up tomorrow with no access to the files on one (or all) of my computers?
Assuming you have a safe copy of your files (see question #2), having a written process in advance for restoring your computer if it fails or gets hacked is a necessary part of any Disaster Recovery Plan.
4. How do I know if one of the hard drives on my computer is almost full, or if there is a problem with some other component?
Hard drives are way bigger than they used to be, but so are the files we store on them. Make sure you know how to check your disk space, because if you run out of space, you may lose your data or crash your computer. Checking other critical parameters, such as your CPU load, RAM utilization, and temperature, is also important.
5. Who is responsible for keeping all the gadgets working properly?
Printers are notoriously finicky, and so can phones, laptops, desktops, cloud services, and third-party software like QuickBooks, WordPress, Slack, and Shopify. It’s essential to know who is responsible for keeping the equipment and software running smoothly, and who is supposed to step in when the primary person is on vacation.
6. Does my team have what they need from their tech to be productive?
Computers, phones, printers, and software can become a liability if they are left in service too long. The best practice is to have a replacement plan in place so that everything is updated before it becomes a liability.
7. How much is my IT infrastructure and support costing me?
Measuring cost can be tricky because it’s not just about the salary of an internal IT support professional or the fee of an external one, but also about the time that everyone else on the staff wastes while waiting for them to fix a problem.
Wait, So How Did I Score?
Putting an actual scorecard on this type of activity is always challenging in a blog post, since every company is different (sorry). However, if you’ve read this far, I hope you’ve been able to ask yourself some important questions about whether your tech is working for you or against you. If you found a few gaps, that’s okay, now you know what to focus on when you have the time.
Want to get an expert’s opinion? Feel free to schedule a consultation with me to ensure that your tech is working for your business, not against it.