How Well Have You Planned for Your Company’s Future?
Even in the dark days of recession, you are keeping your company running. Your planning and resources have made the difference, and even now you are making it through. You’ve planned for growth as well as for lean times, and even for a disaster.
Good for you. But just how well have you planned for your future IT capacity needs?
Your business relies on quick turnaround and even quicker communication. Your employees need to access data, to process it, and also to store it. They need to communicate with you and your customers as well as with each other. Knowing your system needs and how you expect them to grow will allow this to continue.
Think of your business as running along a pipe. With your current needs, you’re flowing along with some extra room. If there’s a spike in volume, you can handle it. What happens when your business grows? Will you invest in a huge pipe and let your business trickle along the inside? While you’ll certainly have the space to keep things moving, you’ll have wasted a lot of resources buying and installing far too much infrastructure.
Capacity planning is all about finding the balance between what you need today and what you’ll need tomorrow, while not wasting time and money purchasing too much. Your IT system keeps your business running, and it’s important to make sure that it continues to flow. By taking a look at your capacity needs and making plans for the future you can make sure that your data is can keep to its course without flooding over or backing up.
Can Your IT Staff Really Find Your Vulnerabilities?
Your IT staff was handpicked from a variety of applicants. You chose the people with the best training and the most experience, and they’ve come together to form a formidable team. They’ve built your network and keep it running while maintaining the security of your data and resources. But just how secure are your systems? No matter how experienced your staff is, is it really wise to leave security in the hands of general IT staff?
Network security is complex. It requires constant training and experience. New loopholes are being regularly exploited. Original viruses are being created every day.
Is your staff up for the challenge?
One solution is to find an experienced security consultant. Day in and day out, these specialists work with companies to streamline and strengthen security. They are constantly trained to meet the challenge of securing networks and keeping data safe.
Think of your IT staff as a local baseball team. Sure, they’ve got more skills than most people. They keep the ball moving and score the runs. Put them on a team in the Majors, however, and you can really see the difference.
It’s not that your IT staff isn’t skilled or that they can’t learn. The issue is that they specialize in building networks and keeping your company running, not in security. They’re simply playing at another level, and don’t have the experience to initiate a comprehensive security protocol. IT security consultants, on the other hand, do nothing else. Let experience be your guide, and let a consultant work with your IT staff. You’ll get better security and a more streamlined system, and then you can really start hitting it out of the park.
Are You IT Tip: Don’t Put Too Much Trust in Your Vulnerability Tracking Software
Vulnerability tracking software can be a tremendous help when you are looking to tighten up security. When you run it regularly, you can find out if you need to update applications or if there are gaps in your security structure. You can take the data, implement it and go on your merry way, right? Sadly, this is just not the case. If only vulnerability tracking were this easy, IT security would be a breeze.
The truth of the matter is that while vulnerability tracking software can be a great way to find some weaknesses, it can’t do everything. It’s just not comprehensive enough, and it cannot think. A true system security review requires perspective, expertise, and creativity. The software, no matter how advanced, isn’t a flexible human mind. In order to fully secure your system, you need the help of a security specialist. This person has the knowledge and ingenuity to implement the best security protocols out there.
The fact that vulnerability tracking software has limitations doesn’t mean that you should stop using it, of course. It can still be a vital part of your security plan when you understand its limitations. Understanding that it has limitations and that you still need human reviews of your security is what really matters. The software is still a great tool, and you should be using every instrument at your disposal to secure your business.
Combining software with human experience is what it really takes to take your security to the next level.