Reach your IT peak: Essentials for scale-ups
Making the leap from start-up to scale-up can be demanding, but ensuring your IT support grows with you needn’t be a tough mountain to climb.
While the coffee machine probably isn’t the only thing starting to feel over-worked, all being well you’re really seeing the benefits of the hours of hard graft you put in during your business’s early stages.
Now the solid foundations are in place, it’s time for a little bit more structure to help you to reach your IT peak.
Bolster your basics
By now, you’ll already be well on your way with a basic cyber set-up, but it’s time to think about more than just desktops, software and hardware. Proactive monitoring can keep an eye on things and spot any general IT ailments before they arise, while best-practice guides for scanners and other devices are also a great reference tool to have.
Bigger business inevitably means bigger storage requirements. You might be working across multiple servers, and the last thing you want to see is the dreaded ‘low disk space’ error message. Insurance and regular updates will also give you the peace of mind you need to get on with the day-job.
You want to be prepared if something does go wrong though, so a temporary webmail portal is vital to keeping business up-and-running, should your email server go down.
Better to be safe than sorry
If you were tackling Mount Everest, you’d make sure you had plenty of contingency plans and security measures in place should anything go wrong. By adding another layer of protection to your existing data security tools, you’re in the best position possible to weather any IT storm.
As they say, prevention is better than cure. So, implementing URL protection links within your internet browsers will help to stop users accessing malicious or restricted websites, while upgraded anti-malware protection will reduce the risk of any ransomware or keylogging attacks.
It’s worth knowing though, that sometimes your own employees could be the secret to SME cyber-security. They can spot when something feels a little ‘off’ and flag it with your IT experts before it grows into a bigger issue.
Go global
As your team grows, there will be greater demand for system access, and not just within your four office walls. Roving business development managers, freelance contributors and employees who work from home all need to enjoy the same level of productivity – wherever they set up their stall.
It’s important that remote workers aren’t hampered when accessing your systems off-site. Good remote user management allows your business to function from anywhere in the world, with VPNs maintaining secure connectivity.
And finally…
Increased headcount doesn’t always have to equal magnified headaches. Tighter device controls can stop a problem in its tracks. For example, consider disabling USB device detection on Windows to prevent unauthorised memory sticks being used. In a similar vein, a 12-month email archive – with records stored off-site – is something to think about as your HR needs continue to grow.
If you’d like some more advice on how to reach your IT peak, or if you’d like information about our free IT audit for start-ups, 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!
