Your IT needs a spring clean too

Posted 19th June 2019

Spring is here! It’s time to throw open your Windows (excuse the pun) and give your IT systems a bit of a spring clean. A bit of general housekeeping can make a world of difference to your IT infrastructure.

Here’s a handy checklist of suggestions to help you spring clean your IT systems:

• Do an app audit. Are all the applications that you have on your system necessary or are some of them out of date or obsolete? Aside from the fact that unnecessary apps take up space, you could also be paying licences for them.
• Check your user accounts to make sure that any inactive accounts have been deleted, for example staff members who have moved on. Having inactive accounts running on your system can be a security red flag.
• Check in the IT store cupboard. Is it full of obsolete devices that you aren’t going to use again? Make sure that you have them properly wiped in line with GDPR regulations, and then sell them or recycle them using a WEEE accredited contractor.
• Do a GDPR data audit. We gather so much data and it all needs to be stored in a GDPR compliant manner, so if you have data that you could defensibly delete, delete it.
• Make sure that your backups are still happening regularly and check that any new software or applications are also included in your backup schedule. Remember to test your backups.
• Encourage your team to change their passwords and review your password policy. While you’re at it, check that they all have the correct privileges. If parts of the team have moved job roles, they may not need access to the same information anymore. Your staff can be a weak link in your security chain.
• Take a look at all of your other policies and make sure that they are fit for purpose. Are your staff using their own devices to access your system or network? Have a think about the security related to this.

It sounds like a massive list of things to get through, but once you have made the decision to do a spring clean, it makes it easier to regularly run through the checklist and action changes. Deleting one inactive user account is much quicker than deleting thirty.

Alternatively, you could call in some experts like LP Networks to do a deep clean for you and then keep us as your Managed Service Provider, keeping your system spotless for the rest of the year.

Download your IT Support Guide Here

Choosing a new Managed Service Provider can be a difficult decision to make. It’s not like test driving a car where you can physically see and experience what you are spending your money on and make a choice by comparison. Instead, you have to weigh up the services that are on offer and decide which aligns best with your business. Tricky!

Get your Guide Now