In today’s digital age, a business’ IT network is central to its everyday operations.
If there’s an issue or failing in your IT system, it can lead to huge losses in your business almost immediately.
Maintaining a healthy IT system, both hardware and software, is imperative. But just what you should be checking when you’re auditing your network? Here a checklist of some of the top questions you should be thinking about when keeping your company’s IT network healthy.
15 Quick Questions To Ask Yourself In A Systems Health Check:
Desktop And Laptop Health:
- How healthy are your devices?
- Are there any physical signs of wear and tear?
- Do they run the most up-to-date version of software?
- Is anything slowing your devices down?
- Are cords and cables stored securely
It’s important that your team are working on up-to-date devices that can handle your business requirements. Any damage to equipment should be addressed quickly, and repairs made before they cause larger issues in the future. Storage and handling of equipment should be done carefully and your team should make efforts to keep their computer memory clean and regularly update applications.
Data Storage:
- Where is your data stored?
- Is it encrypted?
- Who has access?
Data is the lifeline of your business and its online presence. You need to ensure that your data is housed securely and can be easily accessed by your team as needed. Many small businesses can’t compete with the vast network infrastructure of industry giants. But that doesn’t mean you can’t achieve the same level of data storage. The rise of cloud-based services lets you quickly implement robust IT systems that provide industry-leading results.
Back-Up Processes:
- How often is your data backed up?
- And where is that data stored?
- Do you have a disaster recovery processes?
Losing data could be highly detrimental for your business – and even more so if you’re a company that stores data for its clients. You need to ensure data is backed up often, and securely. The ideal solution would be to have your data continuously backed-up, a feature which is available with cloud-based solutions. Cloud backup means that if an incident occurs you can restore your data without losing any progress.
Security:
- How secure are your systems? How up-to-date is your anti-virus?
- Do you have spyware installed?
- Are your firewall and anti-spam solutions in a good condition.
- What are your security procedures internally?
Network and data security is a vital part of any business’ operations, particularly since the introduction of GDPR laws. Ensuring both you and your clients have their data securely stored is a priority in your network health check. Simple security policies relating to passwords, locking screens, printing of details etc. can be easily implemented in the workplace as an added level of security.
Invest In An IT Support Package
Businesses can choose to audit the health of their IT system in-house, but many invest in a professional IT support services company. This ensures an expert is looking over their system and keeping their network and equipment maintained to prevent any issues. Your IT support consultants will be able to fully audit your system before making recommendations on areas to improve.
