Get your I.T. systems something for Christmas

Christmas can be an interesting time from an IT perspective.

It can mean a slowing of support demands, while staff are having a break.

Alternatively it can be something of a pain for those who do maintain systems, because if they are going to fail they can tend to have a habit of doing so just as you’re about to tuck into your turkey!

There are a handful of things you can do to protect against things taking a turn for the worse with your technology while everyone’s attention is on the Queen’s Christmas Day address. It’s much better when everything still works the way it should as you return to business.

First and foremost, have an audit of security and check that logins are secure and passwords strong. If you have concerns that logins have been shared where they shouldn’t or if someone might have been a bit lax with a password (on a sticky note on a screen, for example!) then now is the time to get it changed. Best to avoid any hacking while you’re unwrapping your new socks… An intrusion into your networks and data during extended down time is the last thing you want, because it won’t be discovered as quickly as normal and could be wreaking havoc when you’re starting up again in the New Year.

In fact, if you have any concerns about that at all, think about whether you should be employing some external monitoring of your systems. You can always talk to us at Bespoke Computing.

Christmas Accumulation

Another risk to the smooth running of your IT when you get back in 2018 would be clogged up disks.

Is there going to be an accumulation of data that would otherwise have been dealt with on a daily or weekly basis but will instead be filling up storage while you’re away?

A full disk can cascade into a slew of other problems. If you have routine backups running (and everyone should in one way or another) do you have capacity available for extended time? If the processes of changing disks or monitoring cloud backup capacity are not being overseen as part of the usual procedures, can they cope until you’re all back? Hopefully there will be plenty of overhead, but it’s worth considering. Similarly, if you have primary incoming email inboxes, could they fill up with waiting messages while they’re not being attended to? You don’t want users having their messages rejected!

A bit of thought about housekeeping and best practice now could help avoid a costly and stressful start to 2018 – because that’s no way to set out on a fresh new year!

Merry Christmas from all of us at Bespoke Computing.