Managing your IT can be overwhelming because there are so many tasks and systems to stay on top of. Oftentimes, it’s easy to overlook these tasks and systems, especially when you’re dealing with a heavy workload. In this blog post, we will discuss three commonly overlooked IT tasks that are critical to improving your company’s overall IT performance.
- Data backup and disaster recovery (BDR) plan testing
Having a BDR plan is crucial to ensuring that your company can quickly recover and resume operations if disaster strikes. However, having a BDR plan is not enough; you need to test this plan regularly as well.
BDR testing lets you check if your plan is meeting your expected recovery targets and identify any vulnerabilities that need to be addressed. This way, you can make the necessary changes to ensure that your BDR processes go as planned during a disaster.
You should run a BDR test at least once a year. However, if your business is subject to stringent regulations, such as PCI DSS, you will need more frequent BDR testing. You should also conduct BDR testing when there are major changes in your IT infrastructure, since these could affect your initial plans.
- Network documentation
While many IT professionals agree that keeping up-to-date network documentation is important, this task often gets pushed to the back burner as personnel get caught up with day-to-day IT administration. However, neglecting network documentation can be problematic, especially when your key IT personnel leave and the remaining staff need to troubleshoot issues. This is because troubleshooting most network problems requires a thorough understanding of the network’s characteristics, capabilities, and history.
With up-to-date network documentation, your IT staff will be able to easily resolve issues, conduct regular maintenance, implement changes, and even restore your network if disaster strikes. They can also use the document to transition to a new system administrator, train new IT employees, and comply with necessary data regulations. Network documentation also enables your team to ensure your network’s scalability and stability as you make changes to your technology in the future.
Your network documentation should include the following information:
- Network topology diagram
- Server names, IP address, and roles
- Software versions and proof of licenses
- Networking hardware (e.g., routers, switches, and gateways) versions and configurations
- Active directory
- Backup software version and procedures
- Employee offboarding IT procedures
Remember to update your documentation at least every six months or whenever there are significant changes to your network.
- Employee offboarding IT procedures
About one in four employees can still access their account from previous jobs
When an employee leaves your company, their access to the company’s IT systems and data must be terminated. Many businesses often forget to do this. In fact, according to MFA solution provider Beyond Identity, about one in four employees said they can still access their account from previous jobs. This unauthorized access can lead to many security issues. For example, a disgruntled former employee who still has access to company systems may intentionally delete or damage critical business files. They may also sell confidential company files to your competitors.
The best way to protect your company against such risks is to implement formal offboarding IT procedures, including:
- Disabling the employee’s company accounts
- Revoking the employee’s access rights
- Changing the passwords of shared accounts used by the employee
- Ensuring that the employee has surrendered all company-issued devices
- Removing all company data from the employee’s personal devices and accounts
It’s easy to get lost in a myriad of tasks required to keep your IT operations running smoothly. But if you work with SpectrumWise, you can focus on your business knowing that you have an experienced IT partner looking after your technology. Schedule a consultation with us today.
