As a business grows a lot of things can be put in place that will work for the moment and help the business manage for a period of time, but these quick fixes are not the best solutions. This is also true when it comes to IT needs. From the initial purchase of a consumer level 4-port switch to having the founder’s niece take care of all the computer replacements, decisions are made based on immediate results – not long term viability. Every one of those decisions has a cost beyond the immediate that needs to be considered. Here is just a small selection of how those decisions can hurt in the long run.

Your Backup Strategy is Inadequate

When, not if, critical data is lost there is a 50% chance that your organization will cease operations during the recovery period.

When operations cease, recovery time is critical. With most small organizations having as few as a single IT person, backups are generally approached with a “set it and forget it” mentality. In a best-case scenario when an issue comes up they need to first solve the root issue, then re-acquaint themselves with the back-up solution, and finally get the needed data back. For most organizations this is the time they discover the backup solution didn’t actually save what the company needed.

IT services for small businesses have the benefit of staff that stay current with back-up solutions in place for the organizations they serve. They can keep a dialog open over time to ensure that as the organizations needs change, the backup solution changes to match. With people dedicated to recovering the needed data there is no time lost to diagnosis, repair, and relearning. This faster recovery time leads to operations resuming faster.

Your Security Is Paper Thin

Despite common belief, small businesses are a target for hackers. Even scarier than small businesses being a target is the lack of knowledge on current security threats by small businesses; a third of them don’t know about some of the latest security threats, such as ransomware.

It seems a new security exploit is being heard about on the news every week, turning the management of small business security into a full-time job by itself. Since a small business rarely has the budget to support this, security may fall to a whatever feels right, a “good enough for us” state.

Handing the security of your company data over to another may seem counter-intuitive. The truth is that most companies will outsource their physical security through a contractor that installs locks, a company that patrols parking lots, and possibly even a company providing a guard in the lobby. Why should the company’s data be treated any differently? Increasingly companies are finding that their digital data is as much an asset as the physical products they have.

You Are A Pirate

In today’s world, software is rarely truly purchased. Many common applications have moved to subscription models offering different tiers at different price points. Others have complex yearly fees based on usage or company size. Just tracking existing licensing is daunting, much less trying to figure out what the best new plan might be as your business grows.

Avoiding fines and fees associated with an audit doesn’t require someone with some kind of degree to manage your software environment. It takes a trusted partner that does this already as a matter of course. Not only can they ensure compliance, they can guide you as your business grows and your needs change.

At the end of the day, a small business is rarely focused on IT. However, the business does use IT to do what it does best, whether that’s re-branding a company, spending the day in court, or keeping the community healthy. To make using IT as easy as possible consider utilizing IT services for small businesses. Taking this approach to IT as your company grows makes as much sense as handing control of your water and sewage systems to a plumber.