IT Tips for the upcoming holiday season
Over the holidays, IT can often be ignored, putting you at an increased risk. Make sure that your IT is supported during this time by following our handy Think Concepts IT tips checklist.
1. Back up your systems
Before shutting down your PC for the holidays, make sure your data has been backed up. 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 OneDrive account is simple and an easy way to save documents. Get in touch with us to learn more about our back up solutions like ThinkSafe.
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. We suggest investing in surge protection, uninterrupted power supplies and we can do an audit of critical equipment if desired.
3. Make sure your clients know your shutdown period
Set an answer phone message outlining your shutdown period and when you will resume business as usual. The same is crucial for email, an auto-reply or out of office message 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!
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 fraud. Ensure your employee’s machines have effective virus and malware protection installed and working.
5. Remind your employees of IT policies
As mentioned above, during the holiday's 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 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 systems so it is all primed and ready to go for the New Year.