2017 is now the past as we’ve entered the excitement of 2018. 2017 will be remembered for many of your achievements in your business. Maybe there were some failures as well, but you always learn from the mistakes right? So, mixed experiences must be flooded your mind right now and you want a way out of this flood.
A New Year Technology Checklist You Surely Don’t Want To Miss
Let’s plan a technology checklist for your SMB which will give you a head start in this new year. Nobody is perfect and nobody will ever be. But, you can at least take actions to resemble closeness of being perfect. So, in this post, you will get a Technology checklist that will help you in making your SMB more productive.
Let’s get you started with it.
There is a transition going on from 2017 to 2018. You need to embrace that transition and match your actions to cope up with that. Here’s the way of how to do that,
Change Your Passwords Right Away
Wait, how does changing passwords will help you be productive? Look, being productive is a routine and there are many things in a routine that do not resemble productivity by first look. Same things follow here.
Changing your passwords if an essential step towards productivity. You need to maintain the security by securing the important parts of your business. Because this can really cause huge drawback if the security of your business is breached. It will result in a waste of time and money. So, make sure that you secure your website and all your digital accounts by changing your passwords.
Never repeat your passwords and never make them predictable. You can use any secure password management software to keep the track of it. Do it now save your time and money for good.
Hardware Cleansing Is A Must
Are you looking for a fresh start with your damped and old hardware? That doesn’t sound like a good match, right?
Why don’t you just swap your old and dusty hardware with new ones? Change your mouse’s batteries, clean your keyboard, wipe your screen with a cleaner, replace your old and damp mouse trackpad, and make the wiring tidy with zip ties or wraps. Believe me, that will make you feel better.
Show Some Love To Your Printers
You like prints but you don’t bother where they come from? Bad habit. Go to your printer and remove, empty and clean the paper trays. Go on the web and look for software updates for your printer drivers. Install them in your system.
Check the ink cartridges and keep an extra stock of it. Do you know why? You will be working harder this year right! Make sure to carefully dust the exterior and interior of your printer. Check if it any sort of repair.
Back Your Systems Up
This is very important. You don’t want to lose any of your valuable data from your system. Do this task before the month of January pass and short version month February enters. You don’t have to be negative here but taking precaution is always better than the cure.
The cloud storages and portable storages are cheap. You can afford them and keep your data safe, sound, secure and organised. Back your systems up now and enjoy the priceless peace of mind.
Update Your SMB’s Technology Inventory
You certainly don’t want to miss this. An inventory can help you in avoiding any kind of unnecessary or duplicate purchases and will aid you future budgeting.
This will also keep your technology asset organised so that you cannot lose track of any of them. Technical aspects of your company’s computers, mobile devices, network hardware, and printers. Keep their software up to date. Like is there any need for updating your Operating system? You must also identify the models and serial numbers of these assets to make sure if there is a need for lease renewal. One less thing to worry about right?
Do You Have A Digital Graveyard!!!
Looks like an interesting question. Why would you keep a graveyard of antique technology? Things like a broken monitor, faulty keyboard and mouse, spammy hard drive or stuff like that.
You know you have no need of them. So, just dispose them and get rid of them. Follow the local protocols for proper disposal. Get over it. You don’t need them and that can really save a lot of space for your office.
Create A Checklist For Non-IT Personnelles
Everyone in your company needs well-functioning tools. So, communicate with your team members about their expectations and try to meet them. It is a new year, you want your employees to be motivated enough in order to give productivity.
Also, keep tabs on which employees have company data in his smartphone and are they allowed to do that or not. You don’t want to jeopardize your company’s image about client disclosure.
Schedule A Meeting With Your Business Insurance Agent
What? You don’t have a business insurance agent! That’s a bummer. You need to speak to an agent about your policies of the business. If you have a business policy and you had made purchases in 2017 like new computers, ACs or any other technological items, make sure that is covered by your policy. Design your business policy under the recommendation of the business insurance agent. Or else you might not like what will follow after that.
Also, if your business has a website, a very good practice is installing an SSL certificate to secure it. SSL certificate is the most important thing for any websites today. It will provide a secure connection between browsers and server via encryption. It prevents Man in the Middle (MITM) attack. SSL is used anywhere where you are communicating information that should not be public. Find Cheap Wildcard SSL Certificates to secure your small business website or blog.
Concluding
So, make sure that you keep the tabs on this checklist. This is very important to make sure that things remain organized throughout the year. For your SMB, you need to declutter your data, technical items and office space. In order to get the best results for your business, make sure that your business follows this checklist. Here’s a summary of what you learned above,
- Changing your passwords if an essential step towards productivity. You need to maintain the security by securing the important parts of your business.
- Change your mouse’s batteries, clean your keyboard, wipe your screen with a cleaner, replace your old and damp mouse trackpad, and make the wiring tidy with zip ties or wraps.
- Go to your printer and remove, empty and clean the paper trays. Go on the web and look for software updates for your printer drivers. Install them in your system.
- The cloud storages and portable storages are cheap. You can afford them and keep your data safe, sound, secure and organized. Back your systems up now and enjoy the priceless peace of mind.
- An inventory can help you in avoiding any kind of unnecessary or duplicate purchases and will aid you future budgeting.
- Just dispose the faulty gizmos and get rid of them. Follow the local protocols for proper disposal. Get over it.
- Everyone in your company needs well-functioning tools. So, communicate with your team members about their expectations and try to meet them.
- Design your business policy under the recommendation of the business insurance agent.
Please do share it and spread the word. Did I miss something? Mention that in comments. I’ll appreciate your ideas. Till then have a good one.
Author Bio
Lance Clemons is the blogger by profession with 7 years of experience. He is associated with a Printzone, an Online store who sells hp printer cartridges in Australia. He is an admirer of sharing his innovative ideas with others on the technology trends.