Guest Blog | What does “Having No IT”​ cost my business?

At Simpl we value input from our workforce. Our Sales Manager, Wesley Campbell, recently wrote an article on his LinkedIn page showcasing what he believes are the top 5 “costs” involved when you don’t invest in your IT.  We have shared his insights below:

Introduction

What was one of the largest implications that came about from Covid? Working From Home. I’m guessing if your business never took IT too seriously, when Covid hit, you probably changed your mind. You had to close your physical office and continue operations through remote work. But, did you have the tools at your disposal to do so, hmm, maybe not? I’m sure, Mr./Mrs. Business Owner, that you had to act fast to get your virtual office up and running.

Let’s have a look at what I believe are the top 5 “costs” involved when you don’t invest in your IT.

Lack of Tools

Your business may still have a physical office or you decided to move all your employees to the Work From Home model. The question is does your business have the ability to continue operations successfully by having the right tools in its arsenal? Technology is a key component in our daily lives. Can your business communicate with clients, partners, suppliers, and stakeholders optimally using a collaborative tool like Microsoft Teams? If you have a Microsoft 365 account, you’ll gain access to a large number of tools helping you work productively and securely.

Cyber Security

We’ve heard the saying time and time again, “This will never happen to me” and it’s been proven that anything can happen to any business. Having the correct cyber security in your business can end up saving you thousands, if not millions of Rands. You need to look beyond the standard security features you have. Things like a Password Manager, advanced Anti-Virus, and Threat Hunting are all additional security features to protect your business against hackers, ransomware, and any other cyber threat.

 

Inefficient Production Capabilities

Depending on what industry your business operates in, manufacturing has one of the most untapped potentials in SA due to companies not using the latest technology. The internet of things, or IoT, is a system of interrelated computing devices, mechanical and digital machines, objects, or people that are provided with unique identifiers and the ability to transfer data over a network without requiring human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction. Essentially the processes within your production can be automated and you can see real-time data showcasing your productivity variables. You don’t want your competition to put you out of business, do you?

Always Trying to Solve your IT Issues Yourself

I have personally heard of many business owners that are the “Go to IT person” for solving IT issues. The cost here is not focusing on your core role, which as a business owner is growing your company. Your employees need a central point of contact where all their IT issues can be identified, managed, and resolved. Remote support is so vital right now as most work from home. How are you meant to get IT support in your home office without remote support and the right remote connection software to achieve this?

No Business Continuity Plans

Downtime and no correct systems in place to ensure your critical data is kept secure can cause your business to close its doors. Having a network correctly installed allowing for a failover internet connection will ensure you are always online. If you had to calculate the Rands lost per hour of being down, what would it be? If you lost all your company data today, would your business survive?

What should you do

If you’ve experienced any of these “costs” or can relate to any of them, contact us now for assistance.

Follow us on Facebook and LinkedIn!