Technology has become the backbone of many small businesses. Managing client information, job orders, payments, and more all require different technologies and there will inevitably be problems that happen. Some of the most common problems are small and can be fixed quickly, while others can cost business owners a lot of money.
The best way to protect your business is to understand what common IT problems can occur and the best approach to solving them. After years of servicing local businesses of many sizes, we’ve gathered a list of six common small business technology problems.
Frequent technology problems could mean it’s time to change how you’re resourcing your IT. Learn more about outsourcing your IT and getting back to your business.
Common IT Problems for Businesses
1. Data Loss and Backup Recovery
Data loss, where files or information have been accidentally deleted due to human error, power outages, server crashes and other disasters, is probably the top issue on our list. We see it all too often because there wasn’t a backup plan in place.
Finding the right data backup solution before disaster strikes is the best option. Once data loss happens, there’s no guarantee it can be retrieved. Our suggestion is to have an automatic backup schedule so all data is saved at least once per day.
2. Security Risk
Small businesses hold more information about their customers now than ever before and hackers and cyber criminals have taken notice. Targeting businesses with phishing scams, security hacks, and their employees with social engineering, criminals continue to find new ways around yesterday’s security measures.
Your employees are your first line of defense. Make sure they are well trained in security principles and awareness. Protecting your business and customer data with security platforms built to your needs will pay for itself in the long run. Trust us, the cost and headache of a data breach is much more expensive.
3. Integration Challenges
Technology advances quickly and small businesses tend to rely on older systems to manage their information. Unfortunately, the older the system, the less likely it is to work with new technologies, resulting in duplicate data entries, information unnecessarily held in different locations and other challenges. Asking the right questions about new technology and planning ahead can mitigate and minimize integration challenges.
Choosing the right IT partner like Friendly PC can ensure integration issues are mitigated with hardware and software upgrades
4. The Cloud
“The Cloud” is everywhere. It’s so ubiquitous that you probably don’t even notice it anymore. If you’ve uploaded a picture, document or video to Google Drive or Apple iCloud then you’ve used the cloud. Simply put, the cloud is a term that describes any server that isn’t held on your own device which you have access to and can pass data to and request it back.
Nearly any aspects of managed IT services can be part of a cloud-based service, which lets you meet the needs of your business without investing in an internal IT infrastructure and team to manage it.
5. Waiting Until It Breaks
The saying “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” doesn’t apply to business technology. Every IT system needs regular maintenance to run correctly and securely as intended. Investing in a managed IT partner to predict, plan for and resolve issues before anything actually breaks is well worth the money.
6. Root Causes Are Not Addressed
We often hear clients complain about problems happening again, when the truth is that the issue could have been avoided with a little digging and consideration of the root cause of the problem. IT departments or managed IT service professionals are able to track and analyze data to identify future issues or trends in current issues. Often the most annoying or smaller incidents are the result of a much larger problem.
Work with your IT staff or service partners like Friendly PC to identify root problems and remove or repair them so you can get back to work and off the support line.
