These days, if your IT system goes down, it's as significant as something crucial like the HVAC or water supply being cut off. A day without access to your digital systems will almost certainly be unproductive. So, what can you do to reduce the chance of this kind of unfortunate event?
Read on for some essential tips to help you reduce downtime and keep your IT systems running smoothly.
As with any kind of maintenance when taking care of your IT systems, it makes sense to be proactive rather than reactive. For example, consider the following situation.
Imagine your mouse stops working at the beginning of the workday. If you have a well-stocked supply of backups available, you can probably have an identical model plugged in and ready to go within minutes. But, without proactive stocking, you'll likely need to spend the whole morning requisitioning new hardware.
To maximize system uptime, there are various routine tasks to be completed. For example, creating data backups, system monitoring, and update management are all essential albeit dull tasks.
Take data backups for instance. It's a mundane and routine task that's usually unimportant (most data backups end up being unused and overwritten). However, if you get hit with ransomware, the data backups need to be available and correctly cataloged.
This is why you should automate your maintenance process as much as possible. This ensures your backups are good to go the instant you need them.
Of course, during a ransomware attack, having a backup system in place is only half the battle. You also need to have a detailed plan of action your company can initiate at a moment's notice.
One of the fundamental crisis planning mistakes organizations often make is failing to clearly assign responsibility. Having a robust, well-automated backup system in place is crucial, but you could still experience significant downtime if you didn't decide who initiates the backup recovery process.
A common phrase in crisis planning is "If everyone is responsible -- no one is". You need to have a clear plan that outlines who does what to ensure smooth recovery in a situation that requires data recovery.
Another fundamental error in business continuity planning is failing to consider data redundancy. Redundancy means your system has multiple points of failure. Many organizations assume they have a redundant system because they have two on-site copies of their crucial data -- the data on the main IT system and the backups.
In the event of a fire or an earthquake, this kind of backup system falls apart. If your offices are destroyed, the incident could take out both backup systems at once. This is why security experts recommend a minimum of three backups with at least one offsite.
In this digital age, IT maintenance is vital. To reduce downtime and disruption, focus on proactive upkeep, task automation, swift recovery, and data redundancy. These practices can greatly reduce unplanned downtime, ensuring business continuity, no matter what happens.
Do you want to stop thinking about the technical things and focus on your core business? EnvisionIT Solutions has the technical expertise necessary to keep you up and running no matter what. Contact us to learn more about our extensive technical services.
