With information technology being so crucial to modern business, it is important for organisations to take measures to modernize their own IT.
If you run a business, you will know full well how important technology is to everyday work. In fact, these days it is hard to imagine working without the use of technology. Furthermore, most business leaders around the world agree that leveraging technology is important for business’ progression in their respective markets. We spoke about this with TechQuarters, a London-based managed IT service provider, with many years’ experienceproviding IT support for accountants, and various other types of organisations. According to TechQuarters, there are a few important measures that all businesses should be taking to modernize their IT infrastructures and strategy.
- Replacing Outdated Technology
There is a very specific process around replacing outdated technology nowadays. For a long time, the average business IT infrastructure remained the same – on-premises, server-based networks. In these situations, replacing outdated technology was mainly a process of buying the newest version of the solutions that a business was already using. Nowadays, technology has moved on considerably. Cloud-based infrastructure offers much more flexibility, scalability, and long-term benefit. Modernizing IT usually involves businesses rebuilding their infrastructure using cloud computing.
- Modernize Security
Security investment is very important for businesses these days – even a small business can fall victim to a serious cyber-attack. A big part of modernization for businesses nowadays is taking a cutting-edge approach to securing their organisation, which involves taking into consideration the way in which data is shared and accessed in the age of the internet, cloud computing, and mobile devices. For example, TechQuarters’ work providing IT support for schoolswhile they were closed due to COVID-19 involved establishing secure channels of communication from outside an organisation’s main infrastructure. Another example is enforcing company data and app controls on mobile devices.
- Leverage Cloud Services
Another part of modernized IT is rethinking that way one accesses technology. Traditionally, businesses treated technology as an asset, whereas there has been a major shift towards treating tech as a service. This means that, instead of having to purchase technology outright, businesses pay a subscription to access technology on an ongoing basis. This means two main things: Firstly, businesses can eliminate large upfront investments for technology; and secondly, it means businesses don’t need to pay for new versions of software, because updates are typically factored into the price of the service.
- Leverage Mobile Solutions
Mobile technology is a major component on both modern business and modern IT. Businesses who are adopting modernized approaches to work are integrating mobile solutions to empower their workers to a higher degree. A great example of how this is in action is with the rise of hybrid working, and flexible working. Employees can take their work with them whenever they need to, thanks to mobile platforms being supported with most business solutions. The use of mobile technologies in business requires a strong base of collaboration that can be maintained both remotely and in-person.
- Consider Managed IT Support
A major aspect of modernized IT is adopting a more active approach to support. Traditionally, IT support in an organisation was in place to fix IT after it broke. We asked TechQuarters, an it support company, about this – as they have been providing modern outsourced IT support London businesses have been using for over 12 years. According to them, modern IT support is more concerned with understanding when technology is likely to break – this is known as problem management. As well as taking steps to enable businesses to be always ready to respond to an issue if it arises, modern IT support also involves taking efforts to eliminate the route causes of common IT issues.
