Do your office technology headaches seem more like chronic migraines? Many Southern Colorado small business owners feel the same way. Very few things are more frustrating than hardware and software that is unresponsive, slow, or broken.
And if you are a small business owner concerned with retaining top talent, there is good reason for you to fix your office technology headaches now. A recent study revealed that a whopping 49% of American employees cite frustration with their current employer’s technology as a reason for seeking new employment.
How can you avoid office technology headaches? Here are five ways to keep your employees, and yourself, in a state of perfect office zen.
Learn How to Use Your Existing Technology
If you need to chop firewood, would you use a steak knife or a chainsaw? The answer is obvious. The steak knife is a valuable tool in the kitchen but would be no use chopping wood. Using the proper tool for the job can save time and frustration and make the experience much more enjoyable.
Likewise, using your hardware and software correctly and as designed can avoid many headaches. For instance, if your biggest headaches relate to slow response time when connecting to your server or other devices, properly configuring your network access may help.
Are you using a spreadsheet to track inventory or sales leads when a more robust database application is better suited to your business?
Learn how to use the tools at your disposal correctly, and you will prevent office technology headaches from surfacing.
Develop and Implement a Strong Cybersecurity Policy
We live in an increasingly digital world, and protecting your business’s digital identity is crucial to relieving office technology headaches. While the level of cybersecurity your business needs depends on many factors, we recommend implementing these minimum requirements:
- Require strong passwords. Everyone likes an easy-to-remember password, but if your “secure” wifi password is your business name and the last four digits of your company phone number, the time has come to increase security. Also, require your employees to select strong passwords when accessing company-related systems.
- Run commercial-grade anti-virus and malware software. No matter their size, all businesses should use commercial-grade software from an industry-recognized leader in cybersecurity. Paying for protection for your valuable business data is worth the expense.
Save to Server, or Better Yet, the Cloud
Many employees save things to their local C:\ drive at work because that’s what they do at home. However, doing so in an office environment can lead to several problems.
First, most businesses do not require nightly backups of desktops or laptops. If you get a virus or your hard drive crashes, your files are gone. A catastrophic hard drive failure can cause headaches that take, at best, days or weeks of recovery. However, when you save to your server, which gets regular backups, or better yet, the cloud, you ensure that there is always a recent of your most critical data. (More on backing up your data below.)
Secondly, many Colorado businesses are shifting to work-from-home or hybrid work schedules. Saving files and critical data with a cloud-consulting service will allow employees to work from anywhere, even when the kids have a snow day from school.
Back It Up!
Backups should be the foundation of your business continuity plan and can cure many office technology headaches.
Your server should have regular backups – ideally daily and no less than once a week. Traditionally, data backups are stored on tapes that have a high failure rate. If your backup strategy includes using tapes or another hardware-reliant process, we recommend a dual-backup system – have an on-site digital backup and one stored off-site. Storing data off-site is essential if something happens inside your office, like a fire or a theft.
The second part of scheduling regular data backups is testing the backups. Do not assume the backup is always running as scheduled and capturing all your critical business data. The only thing worse than having no backup is having a failed backup.
Prevent Office Technology Headaches With a Network Audit
You have likely heard the old saying, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” This is the principle behind network auditing.
Checking your network for inefficiencies, compliance issues, uninstalled software updates, and hardware viability before they surface as emergencies is much like visiting a doctor for a checkup. Staying ahead of technology issues can prevent the need for a cure.
Managed IT Services Are the Antidote for Your Office Technology Headaches
The easiest way for Colorado small business owners to prevent and cure office technology headaches is to hire managed IT services. From 24-hour support services to employee training, Amnet is Colorado’s trusted provider for managed IT services. We are the antidote for all the tech issues that ail you.