We’ve broken down essential IT best practices that all businesses should be executing. This only touches the surface and each business is unique. Insight BTR, an IT managed service provider located in Madison, WI, is happy to discuss your company’s IT situation. Give us a call at 608-661-0750.
Security:
Antivirus software is installed on all computers and servers. Not only is it installed, but it is working and updated. A strong corporate antivirus solution is a low-cost way to help protect your data and crucial information such as bank account numbers and customer information.
A firewall is implemented, configured and has intrusion detection and prevention systems. This will help stop cyber attacks as they happen.
Software is up to date. Updates often include the latest security patches.
Drives are encrypted. Through the use of mathematical algorithms, encryption will scramble your data. The data can only be unscrambled by the right cipher key. This will give your business the peace of mind knowing that your data will be unreadable should a device be lost or stolen.
Employee training on IT security is conducted annually and best practices are utilized daily by all employees, including use of strong passwords, changing passwords frequently, logging out when stepping away and avoiding clicking on suspicious emails and attachments.
Data Management:
Data is backed-up. You should have a process that meets your business needs. For some businesses, a daily backup may be enough but for businesses with transactions each second, ongoing backup may be required. There are numerous other items to consider including validating and where to store backed up data.
Does your business have a business continuity and disaster recovery plan in place? Natural disasters and equipment failures can happen at anytime to any business. It is essential to be able to get back up and running quickly and efficiently.
Inventory and Administration:
Your hardware is tracked and marked to help prevent theft, plan for upgrades and budgeting and quickly get replacement parts.
IT vendor contacts are documented and readily available when needed.
IT related contracts are reviewed annually to make sure your business is on efficient service plans and contracts and being charged a fair amount. Services will often change and if your business does not review contracts, you could be overpaying and also paying for services you are not using.
Performance Measurement:
Your tracking key IT metrics such as CPU and RAM usage, bandwidth usage, storage space and time to address help desk tickets. You’re proactive with users to ensure they are able to access technology quickly and efficiently to maximize productivity.
This is just the tip of the iceberg to managing an effective, efficient and secure IT operation. Working with an IT managed service provider like Insight BTR will help ensure your business is taking advantage of the right technology solutions at the right costs. Give us a call at 608-661-0750 or email info@insightbtr.com to get started.
