Information technology is a part of any type of business. Even small home operations rely greatly on technology. One of the biggest challenges for businesses of all sizes is keeping up with the latest computer updates, security patches and making sure all their important data is safe from disasters. Here are six ways that hiring an IT consulting firm in NJ can help businesses continue to run smoothly.
1. Insufficient Technical Support
PC problems are going to happen. Things are going to break. Companies that cannot count on even minimal in-house technical support often find themselves at the mercy of technical issues. All activity can come to a screeching halt if network connectivity goes down. An IT consulting firm brings the needed expertise when it is needed to keep things running smoothly.
2. Hardware and Software Issues
Many businesses attempt to use the same PCs until they fail due to old age. This may seem like an economically sound decision, but in the long run, the time wasted in recovering from complete hardware failures and just the minutes here or there wasted by slow-responding out-of-date computers adds up. Also, non-standardized equipment leads to complicated repairs, troubleshooting and deployment.
By contracting a IT consulting firm in NJ you get the life cycle management for hardware and software resource that leads to smooth-running uninterrupted infrastructure for your business.
3. Security Failures
Cybercrime costs companies in the United States over $400 billion each year. Although many businesses do not have a net worth even close to that, the number comes from cumulative attacks against many organizations – including some that are quite small.
Any company is a target for cybercrime. Hackers are known to build automated systems that search through networks and websites looking for exposed systems to take advantage of for identity theft, cyber-terrorism, and other crimes. Attacks lead to bad press, loss of trust with clients, and sometimes even bankruptcy.
Our IT consulting firm can help companies institute strong password and workflow policies to protect data from the outside world.
4. Poor Backup Strategies
Hard drive failure can occur at any moment. Its really not a question of “if” but more of “when.” If a business has no plan for disaster recovery and no regular backups whatsoever, the averages cost of recovering is 19 days. It can sometimes even spell the end of the organization. An IT consulting firm in NJ can help organizations establish a backup plan and a schedule to test it regularly. This kind of system is critical for financial, medical, and retail businesses.
5. Virus exposure
Viruses continue to be a real threat to businesses. Data recovery is expensive and Malware programs exist that can compromise not only the business but even clients who interact with it. Ransomware attacks not only cost money but also impact the reputation of your business. In 2016, Ransomware virus attacks cost businesses over one billion dollars.
A recent survey showed that nearly 67% of businesses polled did not have antivirus software, or at least not up-to-date active software. Of this number, 15% had no sort of virus protection at all. Keeping virus scanner software up to date and running is one of the benefits of using an IT consulting firm.
6. Spyware Exposure
Spyware is a more subtle type of attack that may be invisible to the end-user. These programs quietly track sensitive data, display unwanted advertisements and even can allow remote control of computer systems. Aside from lost time, recovering from data lost via Spyware has costs many businesses over $8,000 a year not including loss of earnings related to the downtime.
These are only a few of the threats that face businesses that use computers in any way. The benefits of a consulting firm are many. In comparison to the cost of lost data, lost customers and damaged reputation, the costs of a Managed IT firm in New Jersey to maintain your infrastructure are really quite reasonable. Make sure your business is resilient enough to keep going despite these threats today.