Today’s technology empowers business owners in ways that would have seemed incredible even 10 years ago. With a humming network connecting your team to the rest of the world, and with just a few simple keystrokes, your organization can complete tasks that used to take days.
However, the endless possibility that accompanies technological advancement comes with a catch: to be truly effective, IT requires investment – not just of capital, but of time and attention, resources all too dear to the harried entrepreneurs of the modern age. Perhaps this is why, everywhere you look, small to midsize business owners are not only failing to realize the full potential of their technology, but are unknowingly leaving massive gaps in their systems and processes for malicious entities to exploit. And so, budding companies that would otherwise dominate the market are prematurely stamped out by competitors with more tech savvy or are hamstrung by costly data breaches.
Even in the midst of this trend, we understand how easy it is to ignore your company’s glaring technological gaps. You imagine that you don’t have the time or money to address the issue, or that you’ll do it down the road once your business is better established. But no matter how big or small your business may be, there are two foundational tech concerns that you should never cut corners on.
1. Security
Pretty much every successful company today is intimately intertwined with the technology on which it depends. So it makes sense that your primary worry should be protecting what’s yours from those who want to snatch it. Think of it this way: would you hire a $5 locksmith
to secure your office? Of course not. Then why do so many business owners put their livelihood behind a flimsy, $5 firewall – or, even worse, a free antivirus? In 2018, it is more likely that your business will fall victim to a cyber-attack than it is that thieves will arrive at your office in the dead of night, according to a 2017 report from Kroll.
In 2015, SEC Commissioner Luis A. Aguilar wrote, “Cyber security is clearly a concern that the entire business community shares, but it represents an especially pernicious threat to smaller businesses. The reason is simple: small and midsize businesses are not just targets of cybercrime; they are the principal targets.” With this in mind, cyber security should always be one of your top priorities.
2. patch Management
Patch management is the second most important thing you should spend money on because it ties in with cyber security in that it helps protect your systems from known threats. This makes it essential for your business. Patch management gives you piece of mind because it delivers the best proactive or reactive response to any threat coming in to your system.
Patches and updates are always released for a reason. If you fail to install them you are leaving your network open to hacking attempts and privacy risks.
Patch management isn’t just about patching operating systems. To get the most from patch management it needs to cover everything from updates to web plugins (such as flash) or programs (such as Adobe Reader).
Manual patching is often repetitive and time consuming. You can’t expect your employees to know which patches to do or when to do them on their own. Patching too soon or patching too late can cause disruption in work flow. If a new patch causes compatibility issues and is rolled out without properly being tested the outcome could be system downtime.
Investing in a managed solution gives control of patching to your IT provider and could possibly save you money as patches done manually can often cause issues and cost you more billable IT hours.
Keep in mind that if failing to stay on top of updates hasn’t caused a problem in the past doesn’t mean it won’t in the future.
To find out more about security and patch management call Glasser Tech at (516) 762-0155.