When the year is coming to a close, it’s the perfect time to plan for the future. Most businesses begin the year with the hope of growing and improving operations. Much of how a business operates depends on technology. So, it makes sense to look to your IT for areas of optimisation.
A year-end technology review provides an opportunity to look at several areas of your IT. The goal is to take time to focus on improvements you can make to boost your bottom line, as well as what tactics to take to reduce the risk of a costly cyberattack.
A recent study by Deloitte looked at digitally advanced small businesses. Small businesses that make smart use of technology are well ahead of their peers. Here are some of the ways they excel:
The bottom line is that companies that use technology well, do better. They are also more secure. According to IBM, businesses that have an incident response plan reduce the costs of a data breach by 61%. Using security AI and automation can lower costs by 70%.
This year-end, take some time to do a technology review with your IT team or managed IT provider. This will set you up for success and security in the coming year.
The goal of a year-end technology review is to look at all areas of your IT infrastructure. Security, efficiency, and bottom-line considerations will be the key drivers for future initiatives.
When technology policies get outdated, people stop following them. Review all your policies to see if any of them need updating to reflect new conditions. For example, if you now have some staff working from home, make sure your device use policy reflects this.
When you update policies, let your employees know. This gives them a refresher on important information. They may have forgotten certain things since onboarding.
When is the last time your company did an incident response drill? Is there a list of steps for employees to follow in the case of a natural disaster or cyberattack?
Take time to look at disaster recovery planning for the new year. You should also put dates in place for preparedness drills and training in the coming months.
You don’t want to go through a big IT upgrade without considering employee pain points. Otherwise, you might miss some golden opportunities to improve staff productivity and wellbeing.
Survey your employees on how they use technology. Ask questions about their favorite and least favorite apps. Ask what struggles they face. Let them tell you how they feel technology could improve to make their jobs better. This, in turn, benefits your business. It can also help you target the most impactful improvements.
Do an audit of your privileged accounts as part of your year-end review. Over time, permissions can be misappropriated. This leaves your network at a higher risk of a major attack.
You should ensure that only those that need them have admin-level permissions. The fewer privileged accounts you have in your business tools, the lower your risk. Compromised privileged accounts password open the door to major damage.
While going through your accounts, also look for orphaned accounts. You need to close these because they’re no longer used. Leaving them active poses a security risk.
If you make IT upgrades and decisions “on the fly” it can come back to bite you. It’s best to plan out a strategy ahead of time, so you can upgrade in an organised way.
Have a vulnerability assessment performed. This gives you a list of potential problems your company should address. Eliminating vulnerabilities improves your cybersecurity. Planning ahead allows you to budget for your upgrades and avoid unplanned expenses.
Review your use of cloud applications. Are certain apps hardly used? Do you have redundancies in your cloud environment? A review can help you cut waste and save money.
Also, look for uses of shadow IT by employees. These are cloud applications that are being used for work but did not go through approval. Management may not even be aware of them. Remove this security risk by either closing the accounts or officially approving them.
Don’t forget to look at the customer experience of your technology infrastructure. Go through your website and contact process as a customer would.
If you get frustrated by things like site navigation, then your customers and leads may be too. Include optimisations to your customer-facing technology in your new year plans.
We can help you with a thorough review of your technology environment to give you a roadmap for tomorrow. Contact us today for a free consultation.
You need the best IT support. Technology is complicated and expensive. It’s so hard to maintain everything and know what to do when something breaks or goes wrong. IT problems can really put a damper on your day. They’re frustrating, time-consuming, and can seem like a never-ending cycle of issues.
Penntech IT Solutions, a UK-based IT Service provider, is available to solve your issues proactively and reactively. We offer a range of services that will best suit your business needs — whether you only need someone to manage your server or want an entire IT department on call, we provide it all.
We’re always just a phone call away, and we live and breathe IT services. We’re here to help your business with anything that could go wrong with your systems or devices. We’re ready to solve any problem you throw our way!
Contact us today or explore the range of support packages on offer.
Would you like to try Microsoft Teams for free?
6 Things You Should Do to Handle Data Privacy Updates
Once data began going digital, authorities realised a need to protect it. Thus, data privacy rules and regulations are created…
6 Steps to Effective Vulnerability Management for Your Technology
Technology vulnerabilities are an unfortunate side effect of innovation. When software companies push new updates, the code often has weaknesses….
Business owners often have to wear many hats, from handling HR and marketing tasks to managing the finances. One task…
Cool Windows 11 Features That May Make You Love This OS
Microsoft released the Windows 11 operating system (OS) over a year ago. It was well-received mainly with reviews as stable…
6 Ways to Prevent Misconfiguration (the Main Cause of Cloud Breaches)
Misconfiguration of cloud solutions is often overlooked when companies plan cybersecurity strategies. Cloud apps are typically quick and easy to…
4 Proven Ways to Mitigate the Costs of a Data Breach
No business wants to suffer a data breach, but unfortunately, it’s difficult to avoid them in today’s environment. Approximately 83%…
The benefits of AI include advancing our technology, improving business operations, and much more. Adoption of AI has more than doubled…
Leading Password Managers for Personal and Business
We hope that your business is already considering a password manager system, but there’s still the matter of finding the…
You often hear the words “digital transformation” and “collaboration.” But what do they actually mean? What do they mean for…
What’s Changing in the Cybersecurity Insurance Market?
Cybersecurity insurance is still a pretty new concept for many SMBs. It was initially introduced in the 1990s to provide coverage for large enterprises. It covered things like data processing errors and online media.
What are the advantages of implementing Conditional Access?
It seems that nearly as long as passwords have been around, they’ve been a major source of security concern. Eighty-one…
Simple Setup Checklist for Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams is a lot of things. It’s a video conferencing tool, a team messaging channel, and a tool for…
Copilot for Microsoft 365: New Ways of Working!
Copilot is now part of the apps you use every day. It works alongside you to help out with tedious…
Cutting-edge AI Trends in Cybersecurity
AI trends in cybersecurity shouldn’t be ignored. In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, cybersecurity remains a paramount concern for individuals…
Leveraging AI: The Secret Weapon for Small Business Growth
In the dynamic landscape of modern business, where competition is fierce, and technology evolves at breakneck speed, small businesses constantly…
In today’s digital era, data is the cornerstone of business operations, driving decisions and facilitating customer engagement. Yet, amidst this…
Cybersecurity risks – Don’t be caught out!
Emphasising the importance of cybersecurity risks remains imperative, particularly amidst the digital advancements prevalent today. With businesses and organisations increasingly…
Navigating Dangerous Cyber Security Challenges
The ongoing struggle against cybersecurity challenges persists, with 2023 emerging as a crucial turning point for data breaches. This article…
Intelligent Productivity – Unleashing the Power
Microsoft 365 is a formidable suite of cloud-based intelligent productivity tools for more innovative and efficient work. With a consistent…
Cybersecurity Threats 2024: Navigating the Digital Landscape
The global financial impact of a data breach in the previous year amounted to USD 4.45 million, indicating a 15%…
9 Clever ways to use AI for SMEs
The unstoppable progression of AI is reshaping the technological landscape, with software companies rapidly integrating it into various business tools…