Leveraging IT has enabled many companies to increase their efficiency and keep up with growing customer demands. However, over time, your IT resources may no longer be sufficient to meet your business’s needs. For example, older office computers won’t have the computing power needed to run newer and more powerful business applications. Left unprotected, IT can also open your business to cyberattacks, data breaches, and other cyberthreats that can lead to lost sales, damaged reputation, and regulatory fines. These are just some of the reasons why it is important to regularly evaluate your company’s IT.
In this blog, we will tackle the five telltale signs that your IT is due for an assessment.
Recurring IT issues
No technology is perfect, so you can expect IT issues to crop up every now and then. However, having to fix the same issues over and over again is a red flag. Maybe basic troubleshooting isn’t addressing the root of the problem or your IT is in need of an upgrade. In any case, evaluating your IT will reveal issues, what’s causing them, and how they can be resolved.
Unplanned outages and downtime
Scheduled downtime is necessary for regular IT maintenance. What you need to worry about are unexpected outages and downtime, since they take time and momentum away from core business functions. Not only that, but IT downtime also costs businesses almost $85,000 per hour in lost productivity and revenue.
If unplanned outages and downtime frequently occur, it may leave your employees frustrated and demotivated since they are unable to work. Your customers may also have trouble accessing your services regularly, forcing them to take their business elsewhere.
System incompatibilities
Many companies initially invest in one IT solution, then add more and more over the years. Eventually, they wind up with a hodgepodge of IT solutions that do not work together, leading different departments to use separate IT systems. With such siloed systems, departments are unable to easily work together and see the business’s goals as a whole. What’s more, system compatibility and integration issues make IT support and procurement unnecessarily more complicated and expensive.
Cyberattacks
Are you unable to access your company files and/or apps? Have you been locked out of your company accounts? Is your internet connection slower than usual due to an unexpected spike in network traffic? Are company emails being sent without the account holder’s knowledge? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then your company has likely suffered a cyberattack.
One of the most critical post-incident steps you need to take is to reassess your IT and find out how the attack happened in the first place. Examine your IT systems for unpatched vulnerabilities, look for unvetted applications that may have served as entry points, and investigate for possible lapses in your cybersecurity procedures. Once you have identified flaws in your systems and processes, find ways to address them. In doing this, you will augment your cybersecurity posture and make future attacks less likely to occur or cause the same damage.
Important: Failing to reassess your company IT after falling victim to a cyberattack can have major consequences because threat actors will continue to take advantage of your IT system’s weak spots. Let’s say a cybercriminal successfully launched a whale phishing attack. If they stole a CEO’s email credentials and the CEO hasn’t changed these yet, the hacker can take over the CEO’s email accounts to commit fraud. That is, the criminal can order account executives to wire money into the former’s bank account.
Unrecoverable data after an incident
When companies experience incidents like an outage, hard drive failure, or a cyberattack, they can suffer data loss. This is why it is important to have data backups and recovery systems in place. Unfortunately, not all companies do and as a result, they are unable to recover any valuable data they lose.
Data is the lifeblood of a business, so failing to recover it can severely cripple your operations. Apart from that, data loss could result in compliance issues among companies that belong to highly regulated industries. Healthcare is one such industry, and healthcare providers who suffer data loss can be charged with noncompliance with the Healthcare Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, and face lawsuits and penalties as well.
If you are experiencing any of these telltale signs, then it is time to reevaluate your company’s IT. Let SpectrumWise’s team of experts assess the current state of your technology and find solutions that will work for your business. Schedule your FREE consultation with us today.
