The start of a new year is a time to take a fresh look at your business operations and make necessary changes to help your company put its best foot forward in the coming year. If you’ve experienced IT issues in the past, you may have a wish list of tech support changes you want to make already lined up.
Regardless of your previous IT history, here are our top 7 recommendations and best practices for starting the new year off right for your business technology needs.
1. Revisit Your Cyber and Email Security Set Up and Internal Policies
As our world advances in knowledge, accessibility, technology, and connected-ness, the need for sound cyber and email security is more pertinent than ever. Revisiting your setup for IT security in the new year can be done by asking yourself the following questions:
- What protocols and resources does the company have in place for password protection and management?
- Does everyone on the team utilize two-factor authentication for email and other databases or software?
- When was the last time there was a company-wide spam filter update?
- When was the last time the company discussed security awareness and held training for all staff?
These questions can help you navigate your IT security setup and make a plan for improving your policies and protocols in the new year. Not sure where to start? Talk with us today for more information and a full checklist on cyber and email security.
2. Invest in Antivirus Software, Trust Us on This!
Free antivirus scanning software is widely available and used by many small businesses. Unfortunately, you get what you pay for. We recommend investing in paid antivirus software to ensure there are no gaps in your scans, it is run efficiently and regularly, and that there are automation and protocols in place through the software if something does come up.
Ontech can help advise on the best and most affordable antivirus scanning software for your business size and needs – better yet, we can take on and provide antivirus coverage through our managed IT services. Talk with us today!
3. Establish a Protocol for Regular Updates, Backups, and Reboots
Every business should have clear expectations that they share with the whole team about when and how to do proper system updates, run backups, and initiate regular shutdowns/restarts. We often see employees leaving their devices on for long periods of time without running regular system updates or powering them down. This can lead to IT issues such as slower devices, connectivity issues, and overworked, poorly maintained devices.
Our team can help you review your protocols and host training for your team to learn all the best practices for regular and necessary system updates and maintenance.
4. Run Testing – Disaster Recover & Penetration
Did you know that 60% of backups are incomplete and 50% of restoration attempts fail? In more recent years since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, security threats have been at an all-time high. Disaster recovery and penetration testing are key best practices to conduct annually to make sure your information and system is secure and able to be recovered.
With managed services, Disaster Recovery is included. Our team can track real-time backups and recoveries to make sure they are sound and also simulate a controlled disaster to best determine how to go about recovery. Talk to our team today to request a budget meeting and learn more about disaster recovery, penetration testing, managed services, and more.
Want more information now? Check out our blog on cyber-attack backup solutions.
5. Cover Your Assets & Get Insured!
Cybercrime is on the rise. Many businesses are turning to cyber security insurance to cover their risks and protect themselves from financial harm. This is something we are recommending more and more to our clients with the understanding that they fully realize what is and isn’t covered by their policies.
To help you learn more about cyber security or cyber liability insurance, talk to our team today or check out our blog on the topic.
6. Managed Tech Support Should be a Priority.
Many small businesses may not have an internal team to field IT issues or support. Because of this, IT in some ways becomes everyone’s job. Countless hours are wasted by personnel unequipped to handle cyber security questions, threats, or troubleshooting, not to mention the stress of it all when issues can’t be resolved or steal attention from key business priorities. The “break/fix” model will always leave you behind and more often than not, are more costly than regularly managed IT services. By partnering with our team, Ontech takes the burden of managing this priority. A Managed IT Services will allow your internal team to focus on their zone of genius for the company while your valued IT partner handles the technical aspects.
There’s also the saying, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” This phrase rings true for business IT and protection. It’s so much easier to stop or prevent something from happening in the first place than to repair the damage afterward. Managed services involve regular prevention, protection, live troubleshooting, and advanced technologies to keep issues and threats at a minimum, in addition to other regular services. And if after all that, something does break through, your skilled IT team is there to jump on it right away with little to no downtime for you or your business.
7. Hire the Right Talent
Business technology, connectivity, security, and data are such valuable and irreplaceable assets to a company. It should not be handed over to just anyone. When exploring managed services for IT, be sure to get to know the company or individual(s) you are vetting. It’s so easy for IT and tech talk to feel overwhelming and, in some ways, scary to explore. There are so many threats and “what ifs” out there that can send any one of us into a full-blown panic attack. That’s where Ontech comes in.
Ontech is here to help make your business IT needs simple, secure, and straight to the point. As an outsourced IT solutions provider of over 15 years, we work with businesses of all sizes to take the complexities of IT and cyber security off your plate and provide simple yet powerful information and solutions for you and your team to adopt. We invest heavily in our people and skillsets, so you receive the very best.
Our product is our people. And we are ready to help you get your IT security under control.
No matter where you are in your IT journey, contact Ontech at 262-522-8560 for guidance on all aspects of cyber protection. From data backup to email security, our dedicated team of technicians can help you stay up to date as technology evolves so you can get the most from your investment.
