Good Computer Maintaining Practices
ESTABLISHING GOOD PRACTICES
FOR MAINTAINING YOUR COMPUTER SYSTEMS
How to start the year off right
Every new year brings with it resolutions. While we don’t think about our technology on the actual new year, now’s a good time to establish good practices for maintaining your computer systems.
DISASTER RECOVERY PLAN
What happens when your office building is not accessible? Do your employees get paid vacation while your not generating any business? Having a disaster recovery plan will allow for you to know where your data can be accessed and how to reach all your employees. Realizing that when your office is down, your customers may go to your competition and how to avoid or minimize down time with a disaster recovery plan is crucial for a successful business.
BACKUP
There are many different types of backups, which boil down to two main groups, local and online backup. Local backups will minimize down time in cases of a local computer issue. Online backups will protect your data in case your entire home or office gets destroyed.
BACKUP ROUTINE
Once you have the proper backup system(s) in place, make sure they are automated. Many people come to our office with broken hard drives with out-dated external hard drives, since they were manually doing the backups. It is crucial to make sure the backups are running on a regular basis and backing up the correct data.
HARDWARE OUT-OF-DATE
While the old computer which your employee is using may be working, it may be in danger of failing. Is the computer getting new errors? Are they consistently appearing? Now will be an opportune time to get the hardware checked out, since if it needs replacement you would rather do it during down time and not peak season!
SECURITY PLAN
Are you worried that people (including employees) may be stealing your data? Set up a monitor/ tracking software to track and stop your data from getting into the wrong hands.
COMPLIANCE
Do you have to be government compliant? If yes, are you taking the necessary measures to set up and maintain the required compliance?
ONLINE SUBSCRIPTIONS
Many of us have online subscriptions, between the websites, domain names, and cloud based software make sure your payment and contact information is up to date. Did you know that if your domain subscription does not get paid, you may loose the domain with all the email data associated with it?
ANTI-VIRUS
Do you leave the office door unlocked at night? Similarly, make sure your anti-virus programs are activated and up-to-date.
In conclusion, by adopting the proper methods listed above, you will be taking the proper precautionary measures to ensure the continuity of your business through rain or shine.
