If you do one thing this month… Make sure you’ve mastered the basics

At the start of a new year, there are resolutions flying around left, right and centre – all focusing on how to self-improve and make life better. Rarely are these pledges stuck to, with many people falling off the wagon just weeks in, but we’re here to help!

Now, we can’t help companies with their personal resolutions, but we can help with any business-related goals – particularly if they involve IT.

Our newly-launched blog series – ‘If you do one thing this month…’ – is aimed at helping SME owners cut through the seemingly endless list of to-dos, and hone in on one key area that will help with the smoother running of your day-to-day workings. Sounds good, right?

So, to kickstart 2019, we’re talking about mastering the IT basics – because if your foundations aren’t right, your IT infrastructure is sure to crumble at the smallest knock…

A fresh pair of eyes

It doesn’t have to be at the start of a new year, but we figured that now is as good a time as any to reflect on your in-house IT systems and find out how you can not only improve them, but to unearth the quirks that perhaps are making your IT workings slow, inefficient and complicated – you name it, we can find and fix it!

With that in mind, it’s important to press the reset button – not literally, please don’t go tampering with any wires – but in the sense that you’re taking back control of your IT. We’re saying that you don’t have to put up with those infuriating IT issues any longer, but it just takes a little bit of time and effort into getting on the path to system optimisation.

Diagnose and treat

It’s all too easy to rush in and want quick-fixes to all your IT issues, but we assure you that these rapid rectifications don’t last in the long run, so what’s the point?

Therefore, it’s crucial that your systems are looked at and analysed by experts who know what they’re looking for. Just like you wouldn’t go to the pharmacy without a prescription, you wouldn’t start trying to fix all of your IT health issues without knowing what they are first. And that’s where an IT audit comes in.

This would look at all aspects of your in-house systems and provide a detailed summary of any issues, as well as a clear plan of recommended next steps and comparative analysis of remedial activities and business savings.

Understand your IT systems

Please don’t be alarmed, we’re not saying that all SME owners need to become versed in coding or know every current cyber-threat out there – that’s our job – but it’s important to know what you’re dealing with, so that you can understand the wider business impact too!

Once an audit has uncovered the areas that require attention – and the ones that don’t – you’ll have a clearer view of what IT support you actually need.

At the end of the day, it’s your choice whether you choose to implement the suggestions given in the report, so there’s no need to worry about committing to actioning the findings. But surely it’s great to know what you’re up against? Because you then have the power to decide whether or not you undertake the remedial strategy yourselves, get your existing IT provider to handle it, or enlist the help of Q2Q’s managed support service.

Make a commitment to your business

Making your organisation the best version of itself is undoubtedly high on the corporate agenda. So, if you’re unsure about whether you’re susceptible to cyber-attacks, if you’re paying too much for your existing support package, or if your IT is negatively impacting your wider operations, why not stop putting it off and re-evaluate your system? We promise it won’t be as bad as you think!

If you’d like to find out more about Q2Q’s IT audit, why not contact our friendly team to discuss it further?