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i-way
newsletter
May
2004
The Big IT
Challenges for Small Business
A new financial year is about to start, and with it, new challenges and
opportunities!
One of the big challenges for small business owners is the IT infrastructure of
their business: PCs, printers and other hardware; software; internal networks;
external telecommunications; ISPs and other service providers; security - the
list goes on and on. Keeping all
this going is now a major headache - and operational cost - for many small
businesses.
For the coming year, the top three IT challenges for small business are:
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Security
How can you ensure protection - physical and electronic - of your
hardware, software, databases and online data from malicious intrusion,
interference or theft?
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Business Continuity
How can you minimise disruptions to your business from IT problems or
disasters: hardware failure, disk storage problems, software or database
problems, network failures, back ups not done, ISP goes out of business
etc.?
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Keeping Up to Date
Keeping software and hardware up to date is a good way to keep your
IT systems healthy, and also help you avoid costly and disruptive major
upgrades.
We recommend that you include investigation of these IT challenges in your
business planning for the coming financial year.
Ask yourself " What would happen if …..?"
And if you need to take action, do so before it's too late!
Some Pointers
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What IT
hardware, network, software, and associated user documentation do you have?
What backup, systems and data recovery processes do you have?
Is all this infrastructure documented, like an inventory?
This is essential before you can look at the IT challenges and the
business risks they mean to you.
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How
effective is your security? Physical
security - keeping out intruders, securely storing disks, software and data
when not in use, access barriers to key hardware.
And electronic security too - password access systems, firewalls, and
encryption.
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Have you
established a good IT support team - internal or outsourced - to help you
keep your IT systems in good condition, and deal with problems and
emergencies?
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