An IT Primer for Business Leaders
As business leaders and administrators, we are overseeing several business functions. Many of these are specific to our industry. For example, as a legal or healthcare administrator, you are surrounded by industry expertise. However, having a fully staffed in-house IT Department for a SMB is often impractical and cost-prohibitive. So, how do you ensure proactive IT is in place and your business are being looked after?
Just as you would hire a CPA for your business taxes, its wise to hire a managed service provider (MSP) for your business IT. Even with internal IT resources, it pays to partner with an IT service provider for network design, IT projects, and even day-to-day service desk.
Pillar 1 – Network Design
Designing and implementing a solid network structure is the #1 thing that prevents issues. Just as the foundation is paramount in building a house, the network design for your IT environment is key. Unfortunately, many IT service providers simply operate with the “break-fix” mentality. If something breaks, they will duct tape your network without any thought of the bigger picture. As a result, these issues start to add up and eventually the environment will be severely disabled. This slows down each and every one of your staff and impacts not only their workflow, but their enthusiasm and motivation to work.
Pillar 2 – Security
While ransomware attacks on consumers have declined, enterprise ransomware attacks have seen a more than 300% increase in the last year. It makes you sick to your stomach thinking of having to fork out thousands of dollars to a hacker to recover your IT systems and data. Which could affect both you and your customers. Fortunately, there are security measures available to protect you and your business. Don’t risk it! IT security requires expertise and on-going vigilance.
Pillar 3 – Continuity Planning
Business continuity simply means that in case of data-loss or disaster, there is a plan in place. A proactive IT plan to get your IT systems back up and running quickly without negatively impacting your work or your clients. Consider the lost hours or lost clients that could result from not being able to access your systems or data for a full day? A full week? Or longer? What if you lost all of your data forever? Greatly reduce or avoid all together downtime by implementing a business continuity plan.
As a business leader, manager, or administrator we want you to feel fully equipped to oversee your IT business functions. Our goal is to bring more clarity and focus to your day with proactive IT. We want you to feel good about your IT!
Keep IT Fresh. Call us at 208-901-3350 or email hello@limetreelabs.com to learn more about how we can give you peace of mind and less downtime today.
