The Covid-19/coronavirus outbreak is transforming the world of work and having massive impacts on business operations.  Some organizations faced with higher demands are scrambling to attract and retain talent – think health care providers, grocery stores, web conferencing service providers, and more.  Other organizations, grappling with significant reductions in customer demands, will, unfortunately, have difficult decisions ahead.

                              “Some organizations are faced with higher demands

                                     while others have difficult decisions ahead.”

We want to offer you all the help and advice we can to reduce your costs during this period of uncertainty with IT.

If you need an IT support partner, you can get in touch with us here, and we can do an interactive online session to learn more about your business and the alignment of technology to your business plan or share ideas of what we are seeing in your industry.

Reducing costs while protecting your business

During this challenging time, many organisations are seeking ways to reduce costs while protecting the workforce. Naturally, you want to save jobs where possible, so you look around your business looking where cost savings can be made against your risk profile.

One place to look is your Technology and Applications/Tools, we all like shiny toys but are you utilising them 100%. By talking to your IT support company, you may be able to make easy cost savings while supporting your staff and improving productivity throughout your business.

If you need to make cost savings right now, here is a list to discuss with your chosen IT support company, so they can help:

Maintaining productivity while staff work from home may seem like a challenge if you are not a business that has embraced this before. Thankfully, there are several IT strategies you can put in place to boost efficiency and communication.

As well as the obvious business benefits to increasing productivity, your staff will also benefit from increased morale and team collaboration. They’ll be able to complete tasks successfully – even when working remotely, perhaps even more efficiently due to fewer distractions and interruptions. This helps keep your people focused and ensures that daily tasks are completed as efficiently as possible.

• Better ways to work remotely

Explore different hardware and software solutions to help staff work productively from home. This could include setting up new hardware like dual screens which have shown to increase productivity by 30%) or bluetooth headsets and cameras to make your online meetings productive and comfortable. Ask your IT support provider about off-line synchronisation of files and mobile apps for working on mobile devices.

• Make your people visible and efficient

Online collaboration systems such as Microsoft Teams are really valuable when staff are working remote and help to create boundaries between work and life by showing when they are available.

Microsoft Teams delivers a host of tools to make working easier, more enjoyable and more successful. The cloud-based platform includes file sharing, real-time collaboration on documents, screen-sharing and task organisation. There’s also a host of communication tools allowing staff to take part in video or audio-only calls, instant messaging, and more.

• Integrating key systems for better workflow

Do the systems you and your people use complement one another to help get the job done? Talk to your IT support provider about the systems you use. Ask them if there are better ways for processes to combine to improve productivity. They are not there just to fix when you cannot work, but be proactive within the business to get the most out of your investment.

• Reducing unproductive password issues

When people are working from home, it can be frustrating to suddenly find themselves locked out of a system. There are ways to reduce this happening such as using same login details or self-password resets. The important thing is to ensure these tools are managed and secured correctly. This will help maintain security while making it easier for staff to access the systems they need. Your IT support provider will be able to explain more about logins to link systems together and self-password resets.

During any challenging period, it’s tempting to only focus on the here and now and push other tasks to one side. But it’s important to keep a broader focus, reducing the risks that would make recovery even more difficult in the current economic climate.

Criminals are targeting the new big buzz word Covid-19/coronavirus to employ proven tactics like Email phishing scams to catch you off guard during unusual times or while you are using different devices to read an email that you would not normally utilise this much. Maybe you need to consider your compliance with GDPR. This is especially important when staff are using their own devices, remotely outside the office environment. You may think you don’t need to worry about fines from the ICO at the moment, but you don’t want to get caught out. Maybe the impact to your brand would cause much more of a financial long term hit than a fine

It’s important to keep data safe to avoid the reputational damage lost data could cause. Don’t increase your risks by taking short cuts at this difficult time. Ask your IT support company about keeping data secure and what safeguards you should put in place to ensure the continuation of your business.

Now is the perfect time to take stock and focus on those tasks you struggle to find time for normally.

Here are our top ten tasks you could complete:

1. New solutions/service to impact your market place
2. Match your new business plan to your IT plan and budget
3. Evaluate attrition plan for when/if an employee leaves to not backfill (i.e. hiring freeze) and move the workaround to others
4. Review your HR policy for remote working options– were you able to switch to secure remote working seamlessly?
5. Conduct online IT training sessions
6. Review your back up and continuity/disaster recovery solutions and procedures
7. Look into or review your password policy – Read more about good passwords
8. Review sales and marketing to match new prospect journey and how IT systems can support this
9. Cleaning up file and folder structures and check user access
10. Review your IT security procedures

Taking the time now to put IT improvements in place will give you a head-start when things begin returning to normal.

One way to deliver cost savings for your business is to consider outsourcing IT support.

Scalability

With outsourced IT support, you can scale the service up and down as your business changes. This means you are only paying for the support you need, as you need it.

Control costs

By outsourcing your IT provision to a fixed price, you can budget more effectively and reduce your IT costs when you need to. Hiring and training your own IT staff can be time-consuming and expensive, with no guarantees that people will stay with your company. By outsourcing, you remove this burden.

Greater knowledge

A good IT support company always stays on top of best practice guidelines. With different experts available, they bring greater access to technical ability and advice. This will help you make the most of your systems during difficult times. A quality IT support company will bring years of expertise and be able to suggest workable solutions they know will work well for your business.

Agility

An outsourced IT company will be able to respond straight away when you need IT support. You don’t need to worry about your IT contact being unavailable as the company will always have experts on hand when you need them. The best IT support companies can also adapt rapidly to changing situations, bringing you the service you need when you need it.

Reduce IT security risks

Good IT support companies stay on top of the latest security and compliance issues. This means you don’t need to worry about what you should be doing. You gain the confidence that your IT support provider has everything covered.

Keep up with the competition

You might not have the IT budget of some larger companies within your field. But by outsourcing your IT support, you can still access the technology and expertise that bigger companies enjoy.

1. Create an action list and schedule time – I list without a schedule will not make a difference,
2. If you’re looking for an IT support provider get in touch here, or give us a call on 01942 835912.
3. Check out – Things to consider for your post-COVID19 business strategy