Computers, laptops, tablets, smartphones, printers, servers…We can’t live without them, right? But they sure are notorious for causing major headaches.
Perhaps you heard about the 37-year-old Colorado Springs man who took his malfunctioning desktop out back last April and shot it eight times with a handgun, telling the Los Angeles Times that it felt “glorious” to vent his frustrations. Or the router issue that crashed United Airlines’ computer system last week, grounding hundreds of flights and stranding thousands of passengers. Or the botched software update that brought the mighty New York Stock Exchange to a halt for nearly four hours on July 8th, forcing frustrated traders to manually cancel hundreds of thousands of in-progress transactions.
Even if our personal experience with technology failures might not trend toward such extremes, we’ve all been there. The document that won’t open. The server that goes down for an hour. The battery that’s always about to die. The boot-up process that takes 17 minutes. The dreaded Blue Screen of Death. The never-ending paper jam.
Sometimes, it’s enough to just make you want to throw up your hands in despair. To concede defeat in the battle against malfunctioning equipment. To say, “I give up, technology. You win.” At CMIT Solutions, we know the feeling—and we know how to fight it. Below you’ll find our five favorite methods for reclaiming lost productivity and efficiency, reasserting control over our devices, and salvaging a little sanity in this crazy technology-driven world:
1) Embrace a proactive approach (and never look back). Want to avoid the kind of software update issues that plagued the NYSE last week? Want your systems to stay up and running when you need them most? Want to maintain elite levels of anti-virus, anti-spyware, anti-malware, and firewall protection? Proactive services like CMIT Marathon can do it—all without you ever lifting a finger.
2) Always have your data’s back (so it can always have yours). Maintaining the security of your data is one thing—making sure it’s around to be kept safe is another. Without a redundant and repeatable process for regular data backups, you’re flying blind with your company’s most valuable asset. And CMIT Guardian goes beyond basic backup, adding disaster recovery, business continuity, and virtualization plans into the mix. The final result? 100% protection for your information.
3) Employ top-flight data encryption (when and where it’s needed). Protecting your data is more important now than ever before—look at how many breaches have occurred in the last few months. Not all data requires end-to-end security. But for certain industries like healthcare, legal, and finance, 100% encryption—local files and folders, hard drives, emails, backups at rest and in transit—is a must, not a maybe. There’s a fine line between sufficient security and easy access, and CMIT Solutions knows how to walk it.
4) Adopt new technology (but always tread carefully). There’s no doubt that recent innovations like the cloud and mobility offer businesses a world of new ways to work faster and smarter. But that doesn’t mean you should neglect solutions that have worked for you in the past—or jump headfirst into a new product that you may be unfamiliar with. This is why it’s so important to…
5) Get to know your IT provider (so they can get to know you). The right IT provider should fulfill many roles: trusted advisor and a good listener. Long-term planner and short-term fixer. No provider should ever recommend services that you don’t need, but neither should they neglect critical security just because of budget issues. Any business partner should work to serve your needs and solve your problems while making you feel at ease. At CMIT Solutions, that’s the promise we always strive to uphold.
What’s the biggest technology obstacle you’ve ever faced? How did you overcome it? If you’re looking to avoid the next big problem, ease your existing headache, and find out how to save time and money, contact CMIT Solutions today.