When things are running well, it can seem like wasted time, resources and manpower to disrupt a known IT system with something new. The risk business runs is that aging systems are weaker, both in terms of computing power and in security defences.
As business evolves, existing resources are stretched thinner. When demand exceeds supply, systems can crash. One study a few years ago estimated that hourly costs associated with IT downtime can run into many thousands of pounds.
An IT failure is a major business disruption, but it is not the only danger. Dean Spencer, our MD at Eitex, recently commented, “ Many business owners look at the worst-case scenario and weigh up the risks from there. What they often miss are all the smaller risks older IT systems can pose. The hidden costs involved in the smaller things that can go wrong can be huge. Addressing them is quite simple, and results in big savings on IT expenditure.”
Here are some of the areas where business IT can involve those hidden costs:
1/ Expensive Mistakes
Mistakes happen, no matter how careful everyone is. The big security hacks, where malicious actors from other countries target multiple household-name companies, are the ones that hit the headlines. However, there are countless smaller, equally damaging security breaches every day that never get reported.
These come from inside an organisation, and are often accidental. Security breaches can come from:
- Leaked passwords.
- Emails sharing sensitive documents.
- Careless social media sharing.
Staff training and good control over user access to company data to help combat human error risks.
2/ Wasted Time
The old fashioned way of maintaining business IT systems was to be reactive: When something goes wrong, fix it. If all is going well, leave it alone.
This approach can lead to IT staff permanently chasing and putting out helmet fires, dealing with everything from slow computers to server issues. A better, more proactive way is to foresee potential data bottlenecks or threats, and allocate resources before a critical event stems the flow of information.
Cloud computing provides this proactive power, through scalable services and robust security measures that anticipate and circumvent future issues.
With subscription licences to various software suites or programmes, someone has to monitor allocated resources and anticipate renewal dates. Failure to do so can, at a minimum, result in fees to pay for exceeding, or overstepping the boundaries of, current license limits.
A related hidden cost can come from failing to cancel subscriptions to services no longer used. Managed IT services make sure you’re getting exactly what you pay for, that your resources are correctly allocated and monitored, and that future provisions match usage the instant services are needed.
4/ Out of Date Knowledge
Technology changes faster than most people can keep up with. A report from Tech Nation in 2016 estimated the growth of the technology sector is 32 percent faster than other UK sectors. In Leeds, the biggest challenge to companies is finding staff with the needed talent and skills.
At Eitex we help companies throughout Yorkshire stay current with IT technology. Our Managed IT services are designed to take the pain out of maintaining IT access and resources across your business. Our Office 365 Taster Days help companies grasp the latest advances and understand how Office 365 meets and delivers today’s business IT needs.
Our next Taster Day is in January. There’s still time to book a spot and take a step towards making 2018 the year you banish IT hidden costs from your business.