Tag: help desk

  • 5 Reasons to have an annual meeting with your IT service provider and how to make the most of it

    5 Reasons to have an annual meeting with your IT service provider and how to make the most of it

    If you’re a small business owner and you work with an outsourced IT provider you’re not alone, statistics vary but it’s estimated up to 60% of small businesses utilize a third-party resource for their IT.

    This can look different depending on your particular size and needs, for some businesses it can look like support for existing IT staff, for other businesses their entire IT needs are shifted onto a third party IT resource. There is no one size fits all solution, the needs of your business are unique and your IT support provider should be a resource for helping you grow your business and keep up with the technology demands of modern work places.

    That is why it’s so important you meet with your IT team at the minimum annually, although we really could make a strong argument for quarterly (especially during times of intense growth or change within your business). Keeping them in the loop allows them to provide for your business adequately and on the opposite end you can learn about their recommendations for your business, which are often times free or low-cost solutions and improvements to your technology infrastructure and security.

    Even for recommendations that carry a cost you can plan for these things in advance rather than having it come up as an unpleasant surprise later on, an example would be let’s say their reporting has discovered your on-premises server is struggling to keep up with your demand or even showing signs of failure. This could be talked about in a meeting ahead of time but instead it might become a major headache when the server fails spontaneously and has to be replaced on the spot. Maybe you would have thought about making the move to the cloud this year or could have planned out your hardware purchases to coincide with more favorable timing, you’ll never know but hindsight is 20/20 and you will probably make a different choice going forward.

    So, what are the 5 reasons to have an annual meeting with your IT service provider?

    1. Future Planning: As we outlined in the scenario above, having this meeting allows you to create a plan for the year ahead. If your business has a busy season (most of us do) you can schedule any maintenance or downtime during the off-season. You can plan out hardware purchasing, software upgrades, cybersecurity improvements and more.
    2. Review Documentation: Your annual meeting is also a great time to review any reports your IT service provider has created for your business. At Valley Techlogic we’re constantly tracking items we’re doing on the back end for our clients, the regular maintenance, our 24/7 cyber security monitoring, backup and data services we provide just to name a few.
    3. Project Planning: We also suggest touching on any projects you would like to complete, such as switching out your traditional landline system to VoIP, security cameras (if they provide that service) and any installation or infrastructure projects. Even if you’re not ready to commit to them now, keeping your IT provider in the loop will allow them to plan for these projects on their end as well and keep them in mind when doing their own scheduling.
    4. Service Delivery Improvements: Whether you’re currently happy with your IT providers’ services or not, are they aware of it? Your annual meeting is a great time to review the services you have with your provider and whether they’re currently meeting your expectations (if they’re not, maybe it’s time to make a change and our Switching IT providers kit can help you do it).
    5. Reviewing Past Work: In the same vein, this annual meeting should also be used for reviewing the work they have done for you this last year and any follow-up requests. Despite all the tools and widgets we use in the IT industry, we’re still not omnipresent and sometimes a request is better delivered verbally. They will probably have in their meeting notes items they wish to go over and revisit to make sure you were satisfied with the outcome as well.

    We could address even more benefits of having this an annual meeting with your provider but these five will greatly improve the services they’re able to provide for your business and get you the most value out of the service you’re paying for.

    If you’re working with an IT service provider who doesn’t give you the option of meeting annually, it would be our recommendation you look for a new provider. Our Switching IT Provider’s kit makes it easy to switch (we even provide you with a template letter for discontinuing your service) and if you’re looking for an IT service provider who makes meeting with clients regularly a priority, than why not give Valley Techlogic a shot by clicking here or the image below.

    Looking for more to read? We suggest these other articles from our site.

    This article was powered by Valley Techlogic, an IT service provider in Atwater, CA. You can find more information at https://www.valleytechlogic.com/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/valleytechlogic/ . Follow us on Twitter at https://x.com/valleytechlogic.

  • 10 things you can do today (yes today) to make your business’s network safer

    10 things you can do today (yes today) to make your business’s network safer

    There’s an onslaught of information aimed at internet safety and most of it lets be honest, falls on deaf ears.

    Most people online today feel like they’re technology savvy enough to avoid the scams out there (unfortunately at least 1 out of 6 are wrong) and even if you acknowledge tech falls outside your scope of expertise you’re still at risk.

    The good news is we have a list of 10 things you can do today even if you’re technologically challenged that will make a major impact on the network safety in your office.

    1. Confirm your backups are working. Backups are one of your best defenses against ransomware, especially if you have an archival copy which is a backup copy that’s made once and then tucked away until you need it (usually behind layers of security, like with our TechVault solution).
    2. Security awareness training for you and your employees. When we know better, we do better. Many security awareness training programs are implemented in bite size doses that are easy to squeeze into your day. It’s easier to avoid a phishing scam if you’ve seen the obvious examples through training.
    3. Speaking of phishing scams, don’t open suspicious emails. We’ve talked a lot about this topic including how to spot a phishing email, but email scams are one of the top ways hackers can infiltrate your network.
    4. Upgrade software that’s reached End of Life (EoL). If your office computers are still on Windows 7 it’s definitely time for an upgrade and technically you can still upgrade to Windows 10 for free. While other upgrades may not be free, it’s still a good idea to get rid of software that’s no longer being supported by the vendor.
    5. You should also make sure all the software you need to stay safe online is installed on your devices. Programs can go missing or just not be reinstalled if a computer needs to be wiped for whatever reason, you should make sure important software such as anti-virus detection is installed on all of your office computers.
    6. While you’re at it, it’s time to serious think about Multi-Factor Authentication. We always hear a collective groan when this topic comes up, but password managers have become much easier to use and can even make logging into the various sites you use to work easier. Here are our top picks.
    7. Remove any devices you’re no longer using from your network. Besides being a waste of electricity, devices connected to your network that aren’t being used can be vessels for infiltration if they’re not being kept up to date via patching etc. Get rid of them!
    8. Have a plan for reporting suspicious activity. Do your employees know what to do if they receive a suspicious email or their computers acting “funny”? Having a plan documented somewhere (even if the only advice is “Contact our IT service team”) can mean a cyber threat event is recorded and dealt with instead of just ignored because they didn’t know what to do.
    9. Have an office password policy guide as well. It’s a good idea to have a guide for passwords available to your employees, especially if it covers what not to do such as having your phone number or any other PII (Personal Identifying Information) as your password.
    10. Know when to ask for help. This list is a good place to start but if your business has no IT help now (or possibly worse, inadequate help) it’s a good idea to call in the experts. Calling Valley Techlogic for a free consultation is another step you can take today to improve the safety of your office network.

    Here are 5 things all Valley Techlogic Plans includes:

    5 Things Included in Valley Techlogic Plans

    Want to learn more? Reach out today for a free consultation and learn how Valley Techlogic can specifically support your business’s technology.

    Looking for more to read? We suggest these other articles from our site.

    This article was powered by Valley TechLogic, an IT service provider in Atwater, CA. You can find more information at https://www.valleytechlogic.com/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/valleytechlogic/ . Follow us on Twitter at https://x.com/valleytechlogic.