Reginald Chan

Tag: office

  • Expert Tips That Will Prevent Your Office From Experiencing Serious IT Problems

    Expert Tips That Will Prevent Your Office From Experiencing Serious IT Problems

    A person can have their hands full setting up a company and keeping it running. There are so many considerations ranging from budgeting, employment, providing goods and services, premises, marketing, and advertising. 

    Virtually every business is dependent on its computers. They provide access to the internet, cloud data, customers, and so on. When a workplace goes paperless, it means the work data has migrated online. This is a very popular thing because it makes offices tidier, but it creates a huge vulnerability too. What if the computers crash or the data is hacked? Could a company survive such a hit? Let’s look at some tips to help protect a business from the unthinkable. 

    Understand the Implications

    If a business doesn’t grasp the full risk, it will not invest in protecting its computer systems. The money will be spent on ‘more important things’ than employing quality staff to oversee the IT.

    Almost one-third of all small business crimes related to malware issues. It’s a sobering statistic that the average fee to recover from an online data breach is $4m. Few small businesses have this much money in reserve! That’s why 60% of businesses only last half a year after encountering a cyber attack. 

    Obtain Third Party Help

    It can be very reassuring when certified Microsoft or Apple engineers visit the workplace to make an IT assessment. People often employ the use of manager services so they can have the latest technology and platforms recommended to them. Such IT companies will know how to bring together the different streams of email, data storage, software, and the internet seamlessly.

    On a continuing basis, IT management companies perform risk assessments, look at cost savings, and recommend upgrades and downloads.

    Employ Quality IT Staff

    A business should never cut corners when employing its own computer technicians. If it cannot afford a third party to oversee its IT, everything will depend on them. Computer staff will have access to all company data, so it’s essential they can be trusted. 

    Money should regularly be spent on keeping IT workers up to date because today’s cutting edge computer systems will become tomorrow’s dinosaurs. Spend money on training and let them gain new qualifications. 

    The world of IT is very broad, however, and it’s unlikely one person will have the expertise to cover everything for one business. 

    Manage the Staff

    Every business should have an IT policy. Employees need to be educated that there are risks when a person leaves their computer unlocked. If they leave their workstation to urgently catch someone or make a coffee, anyone can access their data. 

    If access to the work building is gained using security cards, this can be really helpful. Different staff can be given access to different areas. 

    When computer data are held in the cloud, access levels can once again be restricted. Selected folk will be able to open documents, edit them, and share them. This can provide a safeguard against everyone looking at whatever they want. 

    Install a Firewall

    This needs to be an integral part of a company’s IT infrastructure. It will be designed to keep intruders out of the computer network. Firewalls watch incoming and outgoing computer traffic day and night. If it detects something as a threat, it will report and block it. 

    Use Antivirus Software

    These days this protects against more than just viruses. The online world is full of malware, ransomware, trojans, spyware, and more. 

    It’s a sound business decision when a company purchases an expensive version. This is because the more costly software can also tackle such things as online banking or phishing attacks, or spam emails.

    Maintain Passwords

    Just as emails are more secure when they are encrypted, passwords are more secure when they are complex. Staff should have their key documents (e.g. in Excel or Word) password protected. Access to different software should be by password only. 

    Staff should not write down their passwords in a book. This is because the information could easily be found by someone else. The IT policy should advise that people must not share their passwords either. 

    Backup All Data 

    This can be so easy to ignore, yet be perilous in its implications. If people keep key documents on USB sticks or external drives, the data can degrade over time. They can also get lost or stolen. 

    When data is stored on a cloud system, it won’t matter if an individual computer or laptop breaks – the data will still be secure.

    Have a Backup Generator

    If a business encountered a sudden power outage, valuable equipment could be irrevocably damaged. Access could suddenly be lost to email, the internet, and the cloud. Valuable data could be lost at that moment too. 

    Companies should invest in backup generators. The portable versions may work for small businesses, but a fixed one would be needed for something larger. When the equipment has been installed, there would merely be a ten-second gap before the electricity was restored. It would be a totally automatic procedure, requiring no human intervention. 

    An added bonus would be that the electric locks, cameras, and alarms would also be back up and running in no time. The premises would be fully protected once more, including the valuable IT equipment. Staff would be able to continue working normally. 

    Have a Disaster Recovery Policy

    Every company needs to have a business continuity plan. This would be for such events as power cuts, hurricanes, fires, or earthquakes. Perhaps an insurance policy should be put in place.

    Businesses should consider certain scenarios and document how the company could continue. A strategy would need to be put in place. If a third party company is overseeing the IT system, they would be able to help with compiling this report. 

    Companies should look at what is held online or in paper format. What data would be backed up, and could there be alternative premises and equipment available at short notice? These are all valuable questions. 

    We have discussed enough aspects to realize that IT problems can not just cripple a company- they can destroy it. Businesses are not wasting money when they act to protect themselves; they are investing in their future. Everything has to work together, from the equipment to the staff and external companies.

  • How to Safely Practice Social Distance in an Office?

    How to Safely Practice Social Distance in an Office?

    This year has been anything but ordinary and we are all experiencing the limitations it is posing to our lives. With the pandemic still ongoing, it is becoming clear that the return to offices will be anything but normal for those who do end up heading back into work.

    Even though it won’t be the same, there are some ways that you can help cope with it by helping keep yourself and others safe when you do find yourself walking through those once familiar doors again – social distancing.

    Those two words have dominated the news headlines more than any combination of words in recent memory so you are going to be hearing it a lot when you head back to work. Finding ways to make sure that the office is safe means making sure that social distancing is in full-effect so people can still get their job done, but not at the risk of infecting anyone else. Here are some ways that social distancing can be properly done in the office.

    1. Partitions and Dividers

    The safest way to prevent any spread of disease or bacteria in the workplace is by setting up partitions or dividers. Clear plastic dividers can help workers see and interact with one another even with an obstacle in the way. Using office dividers helps prevent particles from spit or sneezing get anywhere, and when combined with masks, makes the office much safer and gives everyone better peace of mind. These dividers can be set up at desks, between rows, and just about anywhere that needs to be protected because of high traffic use.

    2. Footpath Arrows

    Another simple solution is to make designated walkways with footpath arrows to indicated directions. You have undoubtedly seen this at the grocery store while shopping and all it does is help people know that they must follow the specific path so they can avoid coming into contact with too many people. These arrows will help direct people and reduce the number of high traffic areas to keep the workplace safe. The best part is that the arrows are extremely cheap so they can be added to any office quite easily. It also helps to create a map to help workers know which paths go where.

    3. Cubicles Instead of Open Plan

    Open plan office designs are more than likely a thing of the past for the time being. They looked modern, cool, and sleek but they simply don’t work how they should during a time like this which makes it all the more important to create a workplace that is safe. Just like dividers or partitions, cubicles provide a good sense of security from any spreading of bacteria or contact. The walls can be high to prevent this as well. Cubicles might not be as new and cool or modern as an open plan design, but in this case, it works a lot better.

    4. Space Out Desks

    Even if you can’t afford to use cubicles, it can be valuable to space out desks anyway. This lies in the ability to use the space accordingly, so it only works if you don’t have too many employees returning and there is plenty of floor space to spread desks out. Not only does this let people talk to and see each other, but it is also useful for them in the sense that it creates natural laneways of separation that can help workers avoid coming into close proximity as often as possible.

    5. Reducing Capacity Limits

    Wherever there are problems with too many people crowding around in certain areas, you need to find ways to reduce them. High capacity areas in an office are usually entrances, elevators, stairwells, and kitchen/common areas. If you can effectively manage how many people are going in and out of these spaces, you can reduce the potential spread of bacteria greatly. The use of partitions and footpath arrows is a good start, but you also need to have a schedule for when people can grab their stuff from the kitchen. This can be difficult, but it might be best to tell people to bring food from home and store anything that can be stored out of a fridge near their personal space so they aren’t moving around too much within the office.

    6. Return Essential Staff

    Back to the subject of returning to work, it should be advised that only essential staff comes back first. You never know how much can spread from whom so if people really need to come back into the office for various operations, it should be people who are needed in the office. Managers, bosses, etc. along with the usual cleaning staff are who should return first to keep the space as low populated as possible. Another good idea is to make sure that when others do start returning, that there is a flexible schedule with on-off weeks or days to help the office remain sparsely populated so that the social distancing protocols are still in effect.

    7. Cleaning Stations

    The last one is less about social distancing and more of a way to make sure that everyone has the right supplies to keep themselves and their coworkers safe. A cleaning station is important and it should have enough hand sanitizer, hand soap, disinfectant wipes, extra gloves, and even extra masks just in case. It should be advised that people use their own sanitizing products that they brought from home to make sure that germs aren’t spreading from surface to surface, but it can help out to have some around the office just in case anyone needs them.

    The words social distancing didn’t mean much just one year ago, but it seems to be all we have talked about in 2020, among a few other things. There is no doubt that social distancing is important for keeping bacteria from spreading so it is important. Using these techniques, any office can be a safe place for work to resume and prevent anyone from getting sick.