We support over 200 business networks. Here are the top 10 gaps we see.

March 13th, 2017 by admin

After 15 years around the block we've learned a thing or two. Many businesses run into the same weaknesses when it comes to their technology. Here are the top 10 gaps that we see in protection, performance, and productivity and best practices for how to fix them. Whether it is step by step or a large technical overhaul, these are items that should be addressed for every business.

It can be a little overwhelming to keep up with your technology. We have helped over 200 businesses with their IT and we’ve boiled down the most common errors into the following categories. Here are the top 10 questions you should be asking yourself to make sure that you are covered with the protection, performance, and productivity that your company needs.

Protection

1. Do you have a backup and disaster recovery plan?

A backup and disaster recovery plan is vital for your protection. Ransomware, natural disasters, and hardware failure are serious threats. Make sure you have a detailed plan for which data needs to be backed up and how often. Don’t settle for backing up your data to an external hard drive and feeling guilty about it because you aren’t as on top of it as you should be. Check out our blog here to learn everything you need to about backups.

2. Have you tested your backups to make sure they are working? Do you monitor them daily?

Just because you have backups doesn’t mean that they are working. Make sure they have been tested and are monitored daily to ensure that you can recover your data. If you don’t, you could find your business facing a GitLab.com-level meltdown.

3. Are your antivirus and firewalls business grade?

A home-grade antivirus or firewall really isn’t enough protection for your business. Business-grade protection may be a little more expensive, but it is definitely cheaper than the cost of a security breach. If you are wondering where to start looking we recommend WatchGuard products to most of our clients and would be more than happy to help you with the setup.

4. Do you train your employees on password security and how to spot phishing links?

Weaknesses within your company can be more dangerous than the threats outside of your company. Some of the most important preventative measures are training your employees on password security and how to spot phishing links. Here is a quiz that your employees can take to help them spot the differences between legitimate and phishing emails. 

5. Are your patches and updates kept current?

Patching and updates are there to cover holes that have been found in security and make sure you are as invulnerable as you can be. Don’t pass them up just because they can be annoying. Make sure your software and programs are up to date, or you could be leaving the back door wide open for hackers to come in.

Performance

6. Do you have a plan for equipment rotations?

When equipment gets old you can run into huge problems. It’s cheaper to be proactive and replace your technology in a timely manner than to try and keep it alive. It’s important to have a long term budget and plan for your equipment rotations. We recommend:

Desktops every 4-6 years

Laptops every 3-4 years

Core Servers every 3-4 years

Secondary Servers every 4-6 years

Network switches, WAPs, routers, and firewalls every 5-7 years

Printers and Scanners when needed

7. Are your network speeds where they are supposed to be?

Do you feel like your network speeds are slower than they should be? Even if your ISP provider is great, your network setup could be slowing you down. Check out our blog post here with everything you need to know about your network.

Productivity

8. Do you use web filtering to keep your end users focused?

Web filtering will keep your end users focused and keep them from creating any unnecessary problems for your network. Restrict the sites you choose and increase your protection from internet viruses as well.

9. Do you have remote connections so that you can work from home or on the road?

Have you made the simple changes necessary so that your servers are available as a private cloud? It’s time to make your life easier. Setup your network with remote connections so that you can access your work from home, the highway, or wherever you need it.  

10. Do you have a plan to respond to any problems that come up?

Sometimes technology has a mind of its own and no matter how prepared you are problems will arise. Make sure you’ve got someone there to help out. Here at Equinox IT Services we believe in happy clients and healthy technology. Don’t hesitate to give us a call at 801-426-0700 if you would like to learn more!

Posted in: Tech Tips