Editor’s Note: Here at Dispatches, we are always looking for ways to help our readers do things. For some of our readers, that means helping navigate the working world, for others, it means assisting in the ever challenging question, “what’s for dinner?” For still others, it means figuring out how to balance family life with everything else. In an effort to aid in all of these endeavors, we have collaborated on this article written specifically for our readers.
The IT department is often overlooked. People tend to underestimate just how important this department is to their business. They do so much more than just fix computers. The IT department is constantly working on new ways to make the company more efficient and helping to implement those changes. They also protect your business from cyber-crime which is absolutely essential. If you’re not giving enough attention to the IT department it can have a cascading effect on the rest of the company and make every employee far less efficient. Below are a few tips to help make sure you give the proper attention to this vital part of your business.
Outsource Properly
When it comes to IT, a lot of people recommend outsourcing. You get the benefit of more experience and a bigger team, and it’s often cheaper than hiring a full team of in-house IT staff. That’s true, sort of. What I mean is, you need to know how to outsource properly if you’re going to see the benefits. Certain aspects of the IT department are best outsourced. Things like implementing new technology require a team that knows it well, so it’s often best to find an outside company that has more experience. General maintenance can be outsourced as well, as long as you find a company that will get the job done quickly. But when it comes to updating systems and processes in the company, outsourcing isn’t the best idea. You need an IT team that work in the building, know the staff and know the company inside out. An outside IT company isn’t going to dedicate that much of their time to your business. Cybersecurity shouldn’t be outsourced either. In the event of a breach, quick reaction is the most important thing. You need to find the gaps and plug them as quickly as possible to avoid more data loss, so you need an IT team on site to handle that.
Network Monitoring
The day to day work of an IT department usually involves taking calls from employees when they’ve got an issue with their computer and then going to fix it. But by the time it causes a problem for one of your employees, you’re already losing money because they can’t work. It’s better if you can spot issues before they disrupt people’s work. That’s why Ipswitch’s networking monitoring solutions are essential. If you use software that will monitor your networks and flag up any problems as soon as they come up, the IT department can solve them before they slow anybody else down.
Limited Software Usage
Whenever you adopt a new piece of software, you’re adding to the workload of your IT department. They have to maintain and fix those pieces of software so if you’re always adding more and more, you’re going to slow them down. Often, different departments are using different pieces of software for the same purpose. When implementing software, make changes across the entire business and always consult the IT department beforehand.