The Day Our IT Support Saved the Business
When it comes to Managed IT Support, many businesses live by the mantra ‘no news is good news’.
It’s a fair point; if your IT systems are quietly running fine in the background, why mess with them?
The trouble is, if you wait for a clear sign that your IT system isn’t doing its job properly, it’s often too late. Even if your IT systems have been working well for a long time it doesn’t mean they are providing you with the most effective or efficient way of working.
Whether your documents are stored on the cloud, you have employees working from home or you operate your business fully online, IT Support forms the backbone of most UK businesses.
Imagine for a moment then that something goes wrong and your IT systems fail. It happens more often than you think…we’ve seen our fair share of businesses that have experienced IT failures and trust us, it is always better avoided.
So, how do you go about making your IT infrastructure failsafe? Well, it normally starts with making a few changes, along with getting the right Managed IT support in place. We know change can be scary, but in the case of IT it really can save your business. If any of the below rings true for you, it’s probably time to get the right IT support management in place to protect your systems for the future.
“We keep experiencing downtime”
Clients come to us when their IT systems keep dropping out and becoming temporarily inaccessible to users which is an instant red flag. Most of the time the causes can be preventable or avoidable but if left to fester can lead to eventual failure. Regularly backing up and securing your data can help, as well as limiting user permissions, but it may be that your entire IT system needs an upgrade – a thorough assessment will help to determine this and avoid you committing to any upfront costs unnecessarily.
“Our IT maintenance costs are rising”
Time and time again we speak with people whose IT maintenance costs are beginning to drain the company, and patching up problems as and when they occur will not solve the overall issue. Surprising as it may sound, an IT system overhaul can be the most cost-effective strategy in the long run. Don’t let things snowball; we always advise engaging in a comprehensive health check of your IT as soon as you can so you’re able to fix potential problems before they really damage the business.
“We’ve been hit by several data breaches”
Cyber-attacks are always a threat but the more out-of-date your IT software is the more vulnerable you are to being targeted. There is no denying that IT security failures can be hugely damaging and ultimately disastrous for businesses. Of course, human error will always play its part, and if you have little automation and employees are using manual workarounds to avoid clunky applications, this will put you at risk too. Moving old physical servers to the cloud can prove really effective in providing a far more reliable infrastructure that is less prone to failure or data breach.
“It’s taking forever to log on and access applications”
Connectivity issues, problems with access and slow processing times are all signs your IT infrastructure is struggling, and they are all really common. Company computers should be updated regularly but this is much harder when you have teams spread out geographically and people working from home. Similarly, a combination of old and new technologies won’t always be compatible, resulting in poor integration – speak with an IT support provider about what changes you can make to enable your systems to talk to each other and work side-by-side.
“We can’t save documents as there’s no space left”
Physical lack of power or space on your server is a common problem with ageing equipment that can get easily overloaded. And it’s an easy fix! Moving all documents and emails, along with the server, out of the office and into the cloud will provide you with a far more reliable infrastructure. Legacy software is also notoriously poor at scaling up so if your business is growing you’ll need to invest in an IT infrastructure that can handle the needs of your business and grow with it.
If any of these issues sound familiar then please don’t panic. We have been able to help many of our clients overcome their IT problems due to outdated, underperforming systems and we will happily do the same for you. Just get in touch with someone from our IT Support Management team for a friendly chat, we’d welcome the opportunity to speak with you.