The Connection, Inc Blog

Staying proactive with your IT maintenance can save your business a lot of money, but a lot of people don’t know exactly how they can go about doing this. In this month’s newsletter we are going to discuss how proactive maintenance works and how it is a crucial part to any evolved managed IT strategy. 

With countless threats out there waiting for IT professionals to slip up, it’s no small wonder that many of these professionals are opting into what is called a zero-trust policy for their security standards. But what is a zero-trust policy, and why is it so effective at curbing potentially dangerous situations for your business? Let’s investigate this in today’s blog article.

It’s time to face the fact that those times when your technology acts up, you don’t have the time to spare waiting around for the issue to just go away...you need to react. Many small businesses just don’t have the means to maintain an in-house IT resource to solve their problems. What if we can offer you a different solution.

There are some tasks that are essential to the health of your business’ network. For example, you need to make sure that you are engaging in regular network management activities. Do you know what this task entails?

It’s no secret that a business owner has more than enough to deal with, regardless of that business’ size.

Whether the business has 10 employees or 100, the business owner has to deal with the stress of managing the minutiae of everyday operations, along with any other issues that may pop up. As one might assume, financial concerns can contribute considerably to that stress.

For instance, an owner needs to keep their finger on their organization’s budgetary pulse so they can be sure that cash is flowing as it should be--not just in, through invoices and bills, but also out, through payroll and operative costs. These matters must all be tracked to ensure that the business’ finances are all in order. It wouldn’t be very helpful if a business’ power was shut off, which is precisely what would happen if the electric bill went unpaid.

There’s more to managing a business than just the financial aspects of it--a business is made up of employees who will seek out leadership from their employer, the business owner. An owner needs to walk the fine line where they are seen as a resource for employees to turn to, but also as a motivator for these same employees to remain focused on the task at hand. There also needs to be an effort on the part of the owner to keep their employees happy, comfortable, and engaged, as this will help benefit the staff’s collective productivity.

Those employees who seek to excel will need to be provided with the opportunity to grow professionally, while underperforming employees will need to have their behavior analyzed so that the issue can be identified and resolved so that company time and resources aren’t being wasted. These matters commonly travel up the chain of command to reach the owner, especially if an employee’s poor performance becomes a Human Resources issue.

Of course, a business can’t function without its clients, and so that is another area that an owner must devote their attention to. A business exists to provide goods and/or services to their clientele and customer base, and in order for the business to do so, there should be a culture of respect and professionalism when dealing with clients. It is a business owner’s job to encourage that kind of environment, observing that business processes are followed and promises are fulfilled post haste.

Additionally, a modern business will need technology in order to properly function, which in turn needs to be maintained so it remains in secure operation. To keep these maintained, an owner needs to make sure that their resources are all up to date and accounted for, all patches and security updates applied, and that their backup solution is tested.

Lastly, a business owner has a life outside of the business to attend to as well. Familial responsibilities and private matters come in and create friction that will often seep into the workplace, and vice versa. Totaled up, that’s some considerable pressure that the manager has to contend with.

The Connection can help to relieve some of that pressure by managing your organization’s IT on your behalf. That way, you can go about business, secure in the knowledge that your IT will be ready to enable your success, with the support you’ll need if things don’t work out. For more information, give us a call at (732) 291-5938.

If your business experiences a technological failure, how many operations simply stop dead in their tracks until the problem is resolved? While it might seem like you have no control over your business’ technology (at least the issues that cause downtime), this is far from the truth. If you take action now, you can prevent issues from cropping up in the first place rather than reacting to them later, after they have already caused considerable problems for your business.

If you think about it, waiting to fix problems as they appear is simply accepting that downtime will be an issue. This is a dangerous and wasteful mindset to have. If you can prevent it from happening, then you should. Your bottom line will thank you for it.

Unfortunately, it’s not always easy to add new initiatives to the docket, whether it’s because you have plenty of other responsibilities or you don’t have the budget to hire new staff members to handle it. Thanks to a service called remote monitoring and management (RMM), you won’t have to worry as much about these problems. The Connection can provide your business with remote maintenance to catch issues early and resolve them before they cause trouble. Here are some of the benefits:

The Benefits

• You’ll acquire a better understanding of your organization’s IT: Countless questions about your IT are asked throughout the day, and many of them have to be answered in order to maintain operational efficiency. RMM can address these issues before they even become problems. It’s not uncommon for issues to be resolved without the business even knowing they were about to have a major problem on their hands.
• Your internal productivity will increase, diminishing downtime: Imagine that you have recurring issues that keep your staff from being as productive as they can be. These repeated problems can basically equate to downtime, as they are unprepared for (and can create situations where) your staff cannot work as intended. The Connection can monitor your systems to ensure they encounter as few problems as possible, adding more productivity back into their workday.
• You’ll learn more about your maintenance needs: Internal IT networks are essentially the engine of the business. They are what provide organizations with the tools and data needed to proceed. Of course, they will always require maintenance at some point, as they are built out of technical components that receive wear and tear from daily use. If these are monitored, you can keep them from failing when you need them most. This gives you the chance to act on these inconsistencies and prevent a disaster.
• Efficiency will increase: Without downtime in their way, employees will be empowered to get more done throughout the workday. Remote monitoring and management can cut these distractions out completely be solving the root issue of the recurring problem.
• Security will improve dramatically: Security updates can become a major point of contention for organizations that don’t issue patches as they are released. This is why so many businesses fell at the hands of ransomware like NotPetya and WannaCry. Updating systems is made much easier thanks to RMM solutions, as the patches and updates can be issued remotely without the on-site intervention of technicians. This helps you focus on operations rather than keeping your business safe.

The benefits of RMM basically mean that you’re putting all the time you would normally spend worrying about keeping your business functional back into your schedule for other tasks. If this sounds like a great deal for your organization, reach out to The Connection at (732) 291-5938.