{"id":2217,"date":"2019-03-19T20:27:43","date_gmt":"2019-03-20T02:27:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/burntorangesolutions.com\/?p=2217"},"modified":"2019-03-19T20:27:43","modified_gmt":"2019-03-20T02:27:43","slug":"top-10-common-mistakes-smbs-make-with-their-computer-network","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/burntorangesolutions.com\/top-10-common-mistakes-smbs-make-with-their-computer-network\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 10 computer network mistakes made by SMB’s"},"content":{"rendered":"

Our\u00a0Saskatoon IT Tips are from the Trusted professionals at Burnt Orange Solutions.<\/a>\u00a0 We promise to have a one-hour response time for all your\u00a0Saskatoon IT support<\/a>\u00a0needs. Honesty and respect are important to us. In our latest \u00a0IT Expert tip Article<\/a>, we discuss the Top 10 computer network mistakes made by SMB’s<\/p>\n

Top 10 computer network mistakes made by small and medium businesses<\/h2>\n

1. A Waste Of Money<\/h3>\n

\"Top<\/a>Nearly every business in the world is guilty of this. Business owner spend a great deal of money and time on software packages that can do wonderful things, and then only use 10 percent of its capability.
\nSpend a little bit of time and money, go on a course or send staff on courses to get the most out of software packages like QuickBooks or your customer database software.
\nThese courses are not too expensive and in relation to your customer database, if a short course will gain you just 1 extra customer this year, it will have paid for itself.<\/p>\n

2. Not Protecting The Business<\/h3>\n

Did you know that the average cost of recovery from a ransomware infection is in 2018 was US$133,000 globally?<\/p>\n

Our team at Burnt OrangeSolutions have helped several companies recover from virus and ransomware attacks in Saskatoon, here are the figures for an actual Saskatoon firm:<\/p>\n

ACTIVITY<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0COST TO BUSINESS<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

Downtime. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 $5,333
\nRecovery of Data. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 $2,000
\nRecovery of Computers. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0$1,500
\nLost Productivity. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 $7,999.50
\nReproduction of Lost Data. \u00a0 \u00a0$140,000
\nLoss of Business. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0$63,786
\nRebuild of Reputation. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0$7,500<\/p>\n

Total: $228,118.50<\/strong><\/p>\n

Not protecting the network can be a very costly error. From simple things like enforcing the need for strong passwords to having a correctly configured business grade firewall, protecting a business computer network is a complex task and should be done by a professional company.<\/p>\n

3. Not Protecting The Company\u2019s Data<\/h3>\n

Look at the table above again. The largest entry is for the reproduction of lost data.
\nThis comes down to having an automated and tested backup\/recovery\/continuity solution. Don\u2019t leave this to a human in the office, they make mistakes. Put your trust in a professional IT company which can look after you valuable business data correctly.<\/p>\n

4. Insufficient Technical Support<\/h3>\n

We have heard them all here, \u2018I don\u2019t need help with my computers because\u2026.:
\n\u2022 A family member helps me,
\n\u2022 The kid from down the road is good with computers, he\/she helps me,
\n\u2022 I know a guy,
\n\u2022 A computer guy from the local bank helps us,
\n\u2022 Etc etc.\u2019
\nDo you trust your haircut to a \u2018guy you know\u2019? So why would you trust the survivability of your valuable business data, your income, the income of your staff, your retirement to a person you know?
\nA business needs professional IT support. Yes, it costs money, but that money is easily recouped by computers that do what they are meant to do, run faster, are more stable and are safe to use.<\/p>\n

5. Running On Old Tired Computers<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a>Whether it is the computer or the software installed on it, it must be up to date.Computers get twice as fast every 18 months, the software that we use is written knowing this and will use twice as much horsepower every 18 months.
\nAll the software on the PCs should be updated regularly to keep the PCs stable and secure. Ideally, PCs should be replaced every 3-4 years if you want efficient use of staff.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

6. Power Protection<\/h3>\n

The power we have in Saskatoon is not the most stable. Even a small spike could destroy a computer.
\nEnsure that correctly sized surge protection and battery packs are used for all the network equipment.<\/p>\n

7. Unprotected Email Systems<\/h3>\n

Businesses should not be using businessname@sasktel\/hotmail\/gmail.com<\/a>\u00a0for a few reasons:<\/p>\n