6 Technology tips to set your company up for success in 2021!
This past year has been unpredictable, to say the least. The saying, “Change is the only constant in life” by the Greek philosopher Heraclitus couldn’t be truer in 2020. We’ve all been adapting on the fly, using our quick judgment to survive and make it through to the end of the year. The year to come is still unknown, but there are certain things you can do to thrive in 2021.
Infotect Design Solutions has prepared a list to help you be proactive in 2021. Below are 6 key things you can do to help protect you, your business(es), and employees.
Tips for a successful 2021!
Create a Disaster Plan for Your IT – No one expected Covid-19 to happen! Were you ready? Do you have an emergency disaster plan or are you reactive, making last-minute decisions? Taking time to prepare and plan for the worst-case scenario will allow your company to be on the same page and excel when a ‘disaster’ occurs.
Think about it, can you afford to be down if there is a natural disaster, hurricane, server down, or even a simple power outage? Use this opportunity to formulate a plan! A disaster plan should cover all possible scenarios, so you won’t get caught off guard again.
Trying to plan for the unknown can be confusing. If you don’t know where to start take a look at our Hurricane Webinar to get some ideas for your own plans.
Understand what email phishing is and how to prevent your employees from making your company vulnerable. A Phishing attack allows intruders to masquerade themselves as a trusted entity, duping employees into opening unsolicited communications, ranging from emails, files, and even website links. Intruders can use these tactics to steal user data. User data can be
· login credentials
· credit card numbers
· access to your company’s confidential information
Prevent this by understanding there is a threat and how to protect yourself if you have been a target of a phishing attack.
Develop a clear IT Policy for Remote Access. – These days most of us are working remotely. Remote access to your office environment and network is important to keep your company operating smoothly when working outside of the office. This access helps employees have a similar experience as being in the office. Make sure to have a clear policy on how to do this so your employees have the confidence to do so while working from home. This may include; step by step instructions, permissions for certain users, and time limitations as to when they may access the information.
24/7 Monitoring and Alerts - Having 24/7 monitoring of your IT environment, such as your firewall is important, especially while you are not actively watching your network. This will notify you if an unauthorized user is trying to gain access to your environment. If you are aware of these attacks, then you can adjust accordingly. For example, if you are alerted to a phishing email attempt, you will have a plan in place to stop the attack. This may include letting your co-workers know you “did not send that email, please ignore”, and/or changing passwords.
Embrace Cloud and cloud backup- We are no longer tied down to large clunky servers. Storing everything in the cloud allows you and your employees to have secure access to the information they need, even when out of the office. The cloud encompasses much more than just backups.
You can also harness the cloud to utilize cloud-based applications to run your operations from anywhere, improve efficiency or add automation to your business workflows, or backup your on-premise systems to the cloud for complete ease of mind.
Lastly but still very important, keeping company culture a priority while working from home and practicing social distancing! While prioritizing safety, you should still strive to keep your company’s unique culture. No longer having lunch with your fellow employees or being about to have impromptu brainstorming meetings, even the passing pleasantries in the office can affect your employees’ attitude towards the company. Implementing little things, such as time to recognize your fellow employees’ accomplishments, continuing strong collaboration efforts, or just having your camera on so you can talk to a person and not just a screen. Try using “Together mode” for your next team meeting.
This might seem overwhelming at the time...we definitely understand... these are just a few tips to help protect your unique company in these uncertain times. If you would like to have Infotect help you secure your sensitive data for the upcoming 2021 year please call us at (813) 630-2400 or email us at Sales@infotectdesign.com and we can help you implement these tips.
We hope you and your company thrive in the new year!