Proactively resolving and overcoming common IT-related problems makes it easier for SMEs to maintain stability and continuity.
Keeping up with IT problems has lately been a key issue for businesses of all sizes, especially with most of the workforce operating remotely over the past year. Unfortunately, many businesses don’t pay enough attention to common IT problems that could not only be affecting their business operations, but also compromising their cybersecurity.
Fortunately, taking some basic steps to solve a variety of common IT issues can help prevent such risks. In this article, our IT consultants share some of the most common IT problems (and their ideal solutions), based on their experience, so you can identify and address them effectively.
Did you know almost half of the businesses in the UK lack reliable disaster recovery and data backup strategies? Neglecting such a risk can prove very costly! As much as 93 percent of businesses that experience a data loss incident for longer than 10 days typically file for bankruptcy within the next year.
Solution:
Firstly, put together a reliable data backup strategy, which should typically include taking regular backups, creating multiple copies of the backup, and having off-site backups at a remote location. Next, create a disaster recovery plan with the help of experts, in order to ensure your business operations are affected the least and able to quickly bounce back, in case any unfortunate event actually occurs.
Perhaps, one of the most serious IT issues that businesses can face is a security breach. Companies of all sizes are subject to the same risks, however, smaller companies often fail to implement strong measures and protect their best interests, due to lack of awareness or proper risk assessment.
By gaining unauthorised access to sensitive information, bad actors can wipe out businesses, virtually overnight. This risk has increased manifold since last year, as cyber threats have become more sophisticated than ever, while most of the workforce has started working remotely without prior cybersecurity training.
Solution:
To mitigate this serious risk, it’s important to create, with the help of cybersecurity experts, a robust cybersecurity strategy that’s also compliant with local, national, and international cybersecurity guidelines.
Business expansion is highly desirable, however, most small businesses are not in a position, technically, to handle it. This poses a major challenge for such businesses, particularly when there’s a demand to support round-the-clock operations or there’s increasing complexity, in terms of technical requirements.
Solution:
Seeking valuable advice before planning the business expansion is vitally important. Seasoned IT consultants can offer the much-required expertise and support for your company to expand your business operations.
Skill and talent shortages are a matter of concern for most SMEs, and IT staffing is no exception. The main contributor to this problem is the high level of competition that most SMEs face when competing with larger companies for a limited talent pool. Despite this challenge, it remains crucial to have the right talent in place to meet the ever-increasing demands and technical challenges.
Solution:
SMEs need to invest more in employee hiring, training, and overall human resource management, with an aim to prevent talent and skill shortages. If that seems like a huge overhead, it’s always a good idea to outsource a part (or whole) of the IT operations to a reliable managed IT service provider that understands the requirements and has already invested in training and developing their own team of experts.
It’s not uncommon for expanding businesses to incorporate existing processes into the new ones. Often, this leads to inefficiency in the processes due to lack of proper integration. This, in turn, makes utilising, scaling, and upgrading existing technology a cumbersome and costly task. As a result, organisations find it harder to see an ROI on their technology investment.
Solution:
Centralisation and proper integration of IT Support solutions across the board can help your organisation eliminate inefficiencies. Work with IT consultants who understand your requirements and can get this done for you with utmost efficiency.
We believe that both common and complex IT problems can be easily mitigated by implementing strong IT strategies and any step in this direction can help an organisation prepare for any unforeseeable economic uncertainties.
To learn more about how an IT transformation of your organisation can help improve the stability and efficiency of your business operations, reach out to us today!
