Several months ago nearly every business experienced some kind of disruption to operations, and as millions of employees adjusted to working remotely, IT teams had to provide quick solutions to ensure work could carry on as normal.
Even now when we’re all more adjusted to working in new ways, IT teams face hurdles related to cybersecurity, new technologies and remote working. Here are some of the most common IT challenges facing businesses today along with practical solutions.
A lack of budget and resources is a major concern for both IT staff and employers. For a lot of businesses, the range of applications they use continues to grow rather than shrink – this puts more and more pressure on IT people and systems to deliver the latest. The reality for many small and medium sized businesses is that a decision on whether to upgrade or purchase technology comes down to margins.
When (or if) companies return to the workplace some will be heading back with their in-house IT departments, but for others, it is likely that they will be looking closely at their budgets and cutting costs. IT should be a priority after lockdown, so the need for a more cost-effective IT solution will be crucial. This is where outsourcing your IT can help, find more information here.
Recently businesses have been forced to deploy new tools to help teams collaborate and communicate. But with unfamiliarity and lack of experience with new software, staff are being left frustrated and inevitability on the phone with IT. This influx of requests has IT departments spread extremely thin and likely taking longer to provide a solution.
Whenever you introduce something new, you should think about training well ahead of launch to take the pressure of your IT team. Think about whether users could benefit from step by step instructions or a quick training session over Zoom. Fortunately, there are a variety of cloud-based solutions out there such as Microsoft Teams to help teams which are easy to navigate.
Data and security breaches continue to make headlines and cause headaches for IT teams. Particularly during the Covid crisis, cyber-attacks have been more sophisticated and harder to stop. Making sure your teams are aware of some basic security tactics is important when they’re at working from home or on their own devices.
Real-time monitoring of networks and devices is also an absolute must. Whether you have been directly affected by an attack or looking to boost your security, you should review your current strategy and identify what’s working and what’s not. Outsourcing to a managed IT service can ensure that your computer systems are monitored, and you’ll be alerted if something goes wrong or is about to.
If you’ve ever accidentally deleted a file, experienced a server crash or any other data disaster, then you know how important having a reliable back up and disaster recovery plan is. This can be a real challenge for IT staff that are working with inadequate data back up or a lack of data storage and resources.
Most businesses may not have developed a plan to address a pandemic outbreak, but should have some kind of continuity solution in place. Having the right backup solution and disaster recovery procedures is critical to eliminating the downtime and expenses that accompany them.
When employees are working at home from the cloud, protecting your data is just as important as it is in an on-premise server – a managed business continuity solution will protect all of your data, no matter where it is.
An immediate challenge facing IT teams is understanding their business needs. As the technology landscape continues to evolve, and the current situation is still changing, your IT teams are dealing with increase demand on network infrastructure, a significant rise in user support requirements and new security threats. Now might be a good time more than ever to consider outsourcing your IT support.
Find more information about a managed IT solution from aura, today.