5 Features Of A Proactive IT Strategy

Some organizations take a reactive and break-fix approach to their organization’s IT support system. Essentially, they wait until a machine breaks down, and then they start making an effort to fix it. This approach usually leads to unwarranted interruptions in the organization’s workflow.

To avoid such, it’s best to have proactive IT strategies. Experts continuously monitor and assess whether the systems are in the right conditions, check for potential trouble beforehand, and fix them before they become a significant problem.

For this reason, you’d like to be proactive in your business and enjoy the benefits that come with it. Here are some of the features that’ll help you have a clear understanding of what a proactive IT strategy is:

1. Learns From The Past

To avoid making mistakes, it’s good to understand the errors that have happened in the past and come up with measures to prevent repeating the same mistakes. For instance, if your business database was hacked, it’s critical to investigate and try to pinpoint the security loophole that made the breach possible.

Perhaps it was due to the lack of a firewall, or the passwords were easy enough for Tom, Dick, and Harry to guess. Moving on, you’d want to have a firewall in place, create stronger passwords that are hard to crack, and also enforce other measures to make your data more secure.

2. 24/7 Vigilance

You understand that cybercriminals are working day and night to access sensitive business data and jeopardize your business. It might be a costly miscalculation on your part if you leave the security bit of your system to a nine-to-five employee. A lot of damage can happen during the lengthy period they’re not at work. And by the time they report to work, the cybercriminals may have accomplished their mission of stealing data or corrupting your system.

What you need is round-the-clock surveillance of your IT system. It may not be possible with an in-house IT department, and that’s why it’s advisable to hire a managed IT solutions company. Such firms have a large team of experts that can instantly respond to any data breach or technical hitch in your system. This way, you can prevent hackers from going too far with their malicious attacks and significantly reduce your server downtime.

3. Keeps Pace With the latest trends

Currently, almost every company is undergoing digital transformation due to the dozens of benefits set to be reaped. Some of the latest IT trends you need to consider include cloud computing, artificial intelligence, edge computing, machine learning, cybersecurity, virtual reality, the internet of things, and robotic process automation.

Being up-to-date with current technological trends gives your organization a competitive advantage. Consumers worldwide prefer doing business with companies that embrace the latest technologies. The chances are high that your competitors are also using modern technology to run their businesses. You wouldn’t want to lag with outdated technology, as you’ll never manage to amass a large customer base like them.

4. Remote Accessibility

In today’s world, it might be inconvenient to restrict operations to a stationery office or location. Thus, you wouldn’t want to have servers with no internet connection. Your IT staff and other employees must be able to access the company database from somewhere other than the office. This enables them to work while traveling or from home.

It also enables you to employ managed service providers. They can control your IT system from their offices without having to report in person at your business premises. This way, they can quickly update the system or detect a problem and fix it regardless of where they are. It also helps a lot during those times your workplace is inaccessible, perhaps due to government-enforced lockdowns or natural disasters, such as floods.

5. Tight Security

A proactive IT strategy ensures that the organization’s security systems are tight. This will reduce the risk of data breaches which can cost your company millions of dollars and interrupt your company’s workflow. Millions of businesses worldwide fall prey to cybercriminals every year. Thus, security is of utmost importance to every business that wholly or partially operates online. Here are a few tips to improving the safety of your IT system:

• Assigning minimum privileges to administrators
• Identifying vulnerabilities, such as the Bring Your Device (BYOD) approach, and planning for various related threats
• Using several layers of independent defenses, such as solid passwords plus two-factor authentication
• Regularly backing up all vital business data
• Continuously conducting risk assessments and testing the effectiveness of the security systems implemented

Conclusion

Some of the critical features of such a system include digital technology, tight security, remote accessibility, and 24/7 vigilance. A proactive IT strategy enables you to see threats from afar and develop solutions to combat them before the molehill turns into a mountain. To make this a reality in your business, consider outsourcing managed IT solutions from reputable firms.