Many small and medium-sized business leaders mistakenly believe that because their organization and technology infrastructure is small, they don’t have the same technology needs as bigger, more complex organizations.
The truth is that no matter whether your infrastructure is large or small, complicated or simple, all infrastructures need the same elements of care to stay safe, available, and efficient. It’s really a matter of scale: larger and more complicated IT infrastructures simply need more of the same.
In this article, we’ll explore what your infrastructure needs and how to get it.
You may have an internal IT support organization to handle some or all of your infrastructure needs. Or, you may be considering using an external IT team to handle parts or the entirety of your IT care. All of these options can work effectively.
The most important thing is that your organization’s technology backbone gets the comprehensive attention it needs.
After reading this article, you’ll know exactly what your infrastructure needs to stay healthy. And, you’ll better understand your options for ensuring that your technology infrastructure is ready for what’s next.
What IT Support Does My Infrastructure Need?
As we’ve said, all infrastructures need the same elements of support no matter their size. Smaller infrastructures just need each element on a smaller scale. So, whether you handle your technology internally or partner with an external IT support provider, no business infrastructure should be without:
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Security
Every infrastructure needs to guard against internal and external threats. Tools that can help include firewalls, employee security awareness training, spam filtering, anti-malware & antivirus products, multi-factor authentication, and other email and DNS (or domain name service) protections.
And, with threats changing every day, security is not a “set it and forget it” responsibility. It requires vigilance and awareness of emerging issues.
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Strategic Guidance & Planning
Most small and medium-sized businesses don’t have the financial resources to hire a full complement of IT professionals on-staff. We get it; it’s expensive. But we’d be remiss if we didn’t point out the advantages to having seasoned professionals looking out for your infrastructure.
One way to get the expertise you need without breaking your budget is to work with an external IT service provider that offers seasoned professionals like virtual chief information officers (or vCIOs) and technical alignment managers (TAMs) to help plan and manage every aspect of technology infrastructure.
From budgeting to device and software licensing, equipment refreshes to strategic planning, these experts provide the eagle’s eye perspective you need to make sure nothing is overlooked. And the resources are a phone call away when you need them, but your cost is shared.
And, for organizations that have the resources to support some type internal IT staff, an external provider can work alongside the company technology team to ensure that the infrastructure is fully cared for in every respect.
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Maintenance
In the same way that servicing your vehicle regularly ensures optimal performance and longer life, ongoing monitoring and maintenance of your physical infrastructure and the devices that comprise it can identify issues and prevent problems before they bring your business to a halt.
Make sure your hardware is clean, current, and still supported. Make sure that it is located appropriately and is sized to accommodate your current (and projected future) web traffic.
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Monitoring
When it comes to technology, business leaders often have an “out of sight, out of mind” approach. When things appear to be working, the infrastructure doesn’t get much attention.
The truth is that even when working appropriately, there hidden dangers could be lurking. For example, it’s important to keep an eye out for unauthorized access or malicious software that could affect the efficiency of your systems and the security of your data.
Automated monitoring tools can alert you to suspicious activities and issues so that you can address them before they affect your entire infrastructure.
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Proactive Care
In addition to strategic planning, proactive care can ensure that your technology is ready for what’s next.
That means more than having the laptops on hand for the new staff you are planning to hire for your growing business.
It means ensuring your infrastructure has the bandwidth it needs to handle the extra traffic, you have the access points and switches needed to keep things moving, and that you are proactively implementing other technology advances that will keep your business safe, available, and efficient.
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Patches & Updates
When developers discover security and performance issues in software or applications, they issue patches and updates to address them. It’s important to have the resources and procedures in place to install these quickly and minimize the opportunity for them to affect your business.
Whether you install them manually or automatically, patches and updates are essential for keeping your infrastructure running smoothly and securely.
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Service Desk Support
Your technology is only as good as your support organization. Technology has glitches and you need fast, effective solutions. Whether you handle this in house or use external resources, it’s important to ensure that you have the resources you need when you need them.
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Compliance
Your contracts and industry may require that you have certain tools and resources in place. Make sure you understand what’s required by your customers and, if you have any doubt, ask questions.
Whether there are regulatory or contractual obligations that affect your business, it is your responsibility to have the right tools in place.
For example, contractors in certain industries are increasingly being required to prove they carry cybersecurity liability insurance. Health care providers have long been subject to HIPAA requirements. And manufacturers often are required to comply with NIST 800-171. Know what’s required and make sure you are compliant.
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Business Continuity/Disaster Recovery
Most business leaders would agree that no business can afford sustained downtime. Yet, those same people often admit that they don’t have a plan in place to respond to a disaster.
How would your organization respond? Whether it’s a weather event, a malicious internal or external attack, or a power surge, it’s important to know how you will recover.
Your business continuity/disaster recovery plan will help you identify critical business technology and proactively plan your strategy. Understand your critical systems, identify key actions for internal and external stakeholders, assign responsibilities, prepare timelines, practice accessing your data backups.
Thinking this through before disaster happens, and practicing it often, will ensure that you are in the best possible position for a speedy recovery when a crisis happens.
Related article: What Are The Key Components Of An IT Disaster Recovery Plan?
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Policies
Organizations that want to implement best IT practices should also ensure that they have policies in place to guide and direct users. Tailor these policies to your organization’s needs and requirements.
For example, some organizations have a largely remote workforce, while others are mostly on-site. Make the policies fit your users.
If the policies exist, make sure to review them so they stay current and reflect the latest threats. If your organization doesn’t have technology policies in place, implement them.
Establish policies for reporting social engineering attacks. Make sure employees know how and when to report suspicious activities.
Related article: What Is Social Engineering? Tactics, Impact & 6 Tips To Avoid It
What’s The Bottom Line?
No matter the size of your business, there are certain must-haves for every IT infrastructure.
After reading this article, you have a full understanding of the key components to comprehensive technology care.
You know that best practices incorporate security, strategic guidance and planning, maintenance, monitoring, proactive care, patches & updates, service desk support, compliance, business continuity/disaster recovery, and policies.
At this point, you may have internal resources you can dedicate to these activities, or you may need help. Either way can work, but I encourage you to take action so that your infrastructure has everything it needs to keep your business operational and protect your data (and that of your customers).
We know that managed IT is not the right solution for every organization, but our fully managed offering handles all the critical components outlined above. In our 40 plus years in business, we focus on providing comprehensive, cost-effective solutions for our customers.
If you have questions about managed IT support or just want to talk to a human about your current technology situation and your pain points, use the button below to connect with one of our IT support specialists, who will reach out to set up a 15-minute, phone conversation.
No pressure. No sales. Just a conversation.
