Reach your IT peak: Essentials for established SMEs
As you approach the peak of your SME’s mountain, it’s important that your IT support is reaching the highest heights too.
By now, you should really be reaping the rewards of that hard climb, and that’s why now is a great time to take a step back and let the experts take care of their respective fields – especially when it comes to the dreaded realm of IT.
Firm up your basics
You wouldn’t have made it to where you are now without mastering the basics, that’s for sure. And while as a well-travelled SME owner, you’ve got most of the key business operations covered, it’s still vital to ensure you don’t let the simple things slip now you’ve reached the dizzying summit of success.
To ensure your business runs efficiently in all areas, perhaps it’s time to consider some pre-emptive problem solving, as well as some helpful ‘how to’ guides for your team – to stop any potential problems in their tracks.
Proactive support for servers is a must, but a third-party IT partner could also look after your asset management and server support – saving you the headache of dealing with any insurance or update requirements. This would also give you the peace of mind that your systems are covered in any eventuality – from natural disasters, to attempted cyber-attacks.
Don’t be let down by a lack of security
Never will security be more important than when you’ve truly established your organisation in the busy marketplace. They say prevention is better than cure, so monthly vulnerability scanning can be useful for highlighting any system weaknesses and ensuring they are fixed, before they grow into a bigger issue.
Also, an added layer of protection such as two-factor authentication, can ensure accounts are only accessed by their rightful owners – keeping things secure, even if a password is lost or compromised.
If things do go wrong though, by implementing a data recovery plan – and testing it on an annual basis – you know you’re covered in case the worst does happen.
Keep yourself connected
There may be no Wi-Fi signal atop Everest, but that shouldn’t mean work stops back at base camp. Having site-to-site connectivity is crucial when you’ve got multiple office locations, but it’s pivotal that all links are secure and all traffic is encrypted.
You might consider setting up email detection software too. By using scanning technology to identify certain keywords, you can prevent staff members from sending any confidential information to third parties.
As the saying goes, look after your equipment, and your equipment will look after you. So, with this in mind, make sure you keep all comms cabinets neat and tidy, with no tangles or loose ends. By maintaining optimum cabling, you can prevent crossed wires and long-term damage.
The little extras
By now, it’s likely that video conferencing will play a large part in your organisation. Therefore, to avoid any potential problems with connection, it’s important to ensure proper bandwidth management controls are in place.
You might even want to consider enlisting the help of a third-party expert, to guarantee crystal-clear conference calls for those all-important remote meetings.
If you’d like more advice on how to reach your IT peak, or if you’d like information about our free IT audit, get in touch with the friendly Q2Q team to discuss your options!
Not only that, but if you’d like to take part in our survey – ‘What are the biggest IT challenges facing SMEs?’ – you will have the chance to win an Amazon Echo!
