There is a lot to think about when running a business, and you don’t want your IT to be a problem you’re constantly having to struggle against. The most effective things we think you can do to improve or secure your IT are as follows.
- Secure your systems - enable MFA
- Invest in your Equipment
- Invest in your staff - IT Training
- Get More Monitors
- Get good IT Support
- Get Cyber Essentials Certification
Secure your systems - enable MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication)
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) is the single most effective IT security change you can make in your business. MFA is the use of multiple authentication methods, in addition to the traditional username and password we’ve been using for years. Examples of MFA:
- Having to enter a 6-digit code sent to you by email/text message
- Having to enter a code provided by an App on your phone
- Having to perform an action on an App on your phone (e.g. click a button to approve access).
- A physical device that you need to plug into your PC, like a YubiKey
MFA blocks 99.9% of automated account hack attempts, as in most cases, these are caused by the hacker gaining access to the username/account name and password. If MFA is in use, then the hacker would also need your email account/phone/device (depending on the MFA method) to gain access.
What’s even better is that MFA is so common now that your team will almost certainly already be using it to access their personal e-mail, bank accounts, social media, etc. So generally staff will need very little training to use it; with training generally a big blocker when implementing new security in the business.
Invest in your equipment
Help your staff to be the best versions of themselves at work by investing in their IT equipment. If staff have to wait 5 minutes for their PC to start, or lose time to constant crashes, then that’s time they can’t spend on your business. 55% of workers in the linked survey said their equipment was antiquated, and this can lead to a number of issues which will affect productivity. Not only that, but staff who feel that they’re invested in, be that with good equipment or a training budget, will be put more back into the business.
Improving your company’s IT equipment is unlikely to break the bank. A good quality, high specification business laptop can cost less than £1,000 these days. An investment that’s worth making if it allows your staff to work to the best of their ability.
Invest in your Staff - IT Training
Wouldn’t it be nice if your staff didn’t have so many questions about how to use their applications? Not only does it stop them from working, but it also risks interrupting other staff when they need help with basic IT tasks.
Having staff receive external training will make them more productive and can help them bring new ideas back into the business on how to improve. We’ve had success in using Outlook for Time Management in the past, and our frontline staff have all received relevant training in Excel, Word and other applications, which have improved their abilities to do their jobs and help others. There are many good training providers out there, but the ones linked to are a good starting point.
Get more monitors
Does your team need to work using more than one application at a time, or compare or copy between applications? It may make working life more efficient to invest in an additional monitor.
Using multiple screens can increase productivity by up to 42%. So it’s well worth the investment, especially as you can get a 24-inch monitor for under £100.
If you’ve got a laptop, just use a single additional screen, but for a more permanent desk setup, two additional screens could help. In this case, you’ll likely need a laptop docking station to connect the monitors to.
Top tip – Holding down the Windows key ⊞ and Left ← or Right → arrow keys will resize your current application to fit either the left or right half of the screen. If you’ve got a widescreen monitor, this can be a reasonable substitute for not having an extra monitor if you want to view two applications/documents side by side.
Get good IT support
One of the best ways to increase productivity is to reduce the amount of time your staff spend dealing with issues. Studies have shown (referenced on Page 10) that there can be 2-3 hours per week of lost time per person due to poor performing technology.
Additionally, 45% of people felt their growth at work was being limited by having to provide ad-hoc IT support to colleagues. Not only do you lose time for the person with the issue, but you lose time for the person trying to help them too. What could your business achieve with an extra 3 hours of time per staff member per week?
Having an IT Support provider on hand to help resolve issues without taking up more of your staff’s time. Allowing them to get on with doing their job, rather than trying to fix the issues themselves.
Get Cyber Essentials Certification
Increasingly, we’re finding that our clients are required to prove their commitment to having a secure IT setup to their own clients. The best way to do this is to obtain the Cyber Essentials Certification, which is becoming the de facto standard for UK businesses to demonstrate good IT security standards. It also ensures that your company has got the IT security basics in hand, and you aren’t low-hanging fruit for hackers and fraudsters.
Many government contracts, and increasingly private business contracts, require subcontractors to have Cyber Essentials Certification. You may find that your company misses out on work if you haven’t been certified and your competition has.
More details about the certification, how to apply and how to pass the self-assessment can be found here - https://iasme.co.uk/cyber-essentials/
For more information, please read our article on Why do I need Cyber Essentials Certification.
We hope that you’ve found something in the above that can be a quick win for improving your IT.
For help with implementing changes to your IT, or for an ongoing IT Support service for your company, then Contact Us.