IT Tips for the Holiday Season
Over the holidays IT can often go ignored putting you at an increased risk of viruses and large bills when you get back. Make sure that your IT is supported during this time by following our handy Think Concepts IT tips checklist.
Struggling to tick a box? Pick up the phone, we'll be happy to help!
1. Back up your systems
Before shutting down your PC for the holidays, make sure you do a backup. This should include favorites, mail, address books, and documents. Store these backups away from the computer, preferably offsite. We recommend making two copies, leaving one onsite for easy access and store one elsewhere. For working on essential documents, setting up a Dropbox account is simple and an easy way to save documents.
2. Protect your devices from power surges
Make sure all your devices are protected for the holiday season as power cuts and surges are common at this time of year, and electrical fires are always a hazard. Our consultant and volunteer firefighter Andrew suggests investing in surge protection, uninterrupted power supplies and an audit on critical equipment.
3. Make sure your clients know your shutdown period
Set an answer phone message outlining your shutdown period and when you will resume to business as usual. The same is crucial for email, a bounce back email which indicates when you will be back in the office to respond is important to clients trying to contact you. If you’re not sure how to do this, give us a call! We can even set up some Christmas carols for your hold line if that’s what you’re after.
4. Run a system health check-up
During the holiday season, employees tend to engage in more online shopping. If this is occurring on their employee devices then that puts the business at an increased risk of fraudulence. Running recommended scans on your employee computers is an effective way of keeping systems free of malware. (Talk to us about our ThinkProtect Managed Antivirus product).
5. Remind your employees of IT policies
As mentioned above, during the holidays employees are more likely to shop online. They may also be more tempted to check their personal email and browse social media sites during work hours. Make sure you clearly define your workplace policies on internet usage. We can also help you to implement website restrictions so your employees stay on track.
6. Assess your technology budgets
Assess your technology needs for the upcoming year and budget accordingly. Spend some time researching and seeking expertise in software upgrades, new applications, and system changes that boost productivity and efficiency. Keep an eye out on our social media pages, newsletters and blogs – we are always mentioning new ways to stay productive and ahead of the game in regards to technology!
7. Do some spring cleaning
Many small businesses slow down during the silly season. This makes the holidays a perfect time to do some spring cleaning of your database so it is all primped and ready to go for the New Year.