Business Technology Resolutions for 2019

Now that 2019 is almost here, have you decided what your New Year's resolutions will be? In addition to your personal resolutions of weight loss, spending more time with family, and getting organized, business owners and managers should be thinking about things they can resolve to do to make their companies more successful and operate more efficiently.

Information technology is a key operating component for most companies, and has the power to stop or at least disrupt business. For 2019, I challenge businesses to understand and take steps toward having the right information technology in place - the kind that will help catapult the organization to the next level, instead of holding it back.

Here are some resolutions that can help you get there.

I resolve to:

Make sure that my backups are working.

The absolute worst time to find out if your backups are working is after a failure. I recommend running a test restore or "fire drill" of your backup solution at least once a month to verify that you can actually restore from your backups in an emergency.

Plan for equipment failure.

No one likes to think of the unfortunate things that could happen to their business, but as the saying goes, "Hope for the best, but plan for the worst." If your server crashes, you get a virus, or a hard drive fails, you need to have a plan for how your business will continue to run and how you will prevent data loss.

Make sure hackers aren't getting in.

With cyber-attacks on the rise, now is the time to lock down your system and make absolutely sure that no one is getting access to your network without your permission.

Stop living with technology frustrations.

It seems like every company has those "nagging issues" that they learn to live with, even though they are hampering office efficiency. It's time to resolve them.

Related: Is IT Support Supposed to Be Frustrating?

Not put up with an out-of-date website.

The Internet is the first place people look when they need a new product or service, or want to check out a new company. If your website is outdated or non-existent, you're losing out on a lot of new business opportunities. Many web developers offer affordable design and unlimited content changes at a low fixed price so your website will always be fresh.

Stop putting up with bad customer service.

Your IT provider should always have someone on hand to solve problems, keep detailed records of past issues, care about your business, answer the phone when you call, and respond promptly to requests.

Reduce non-productive time.

Social media and Internet gaming are so prevalent in today's society, but business owners need to control them in the workplace so productivity doesn't suffer. Make sure you have a good web filter so employees aren't spending time on Facebook and Twitter. Fantasy Football and March Madness are also major culprits of hogging bandwidth and causing companies' networks to slow to a halt.

Wish you could totally change your IT experience? Contact us for a FREE IT assessment to cut through the confusion and see what's REALLY going on with IT.