Nov 2020
Having the right IT infrastructure for your small business is very important. IT Infrastructure is the hardware, software, and network resources used to support and run IT operations and systems. This includes servers, routers, software, laptops, mobile devices, and other equipment. IT infrastructure components can be deployed, organized and implemented in a variety of ways. Organizations must frequently update their IT capabilities to keep up with the changing technologies to safeguard against any threats and intrusion in the internet world.
A well-managed IT infrastructure is dependable and efficient, and enables you to focus on what matters to your organization. It must be tailored to suit your use case, and designed to scale with changing requirements over time.
Building an IT infrastructure can be a challenging task for businesses that do not have expertise in this field. Before you begin with setting up your IT infrastructure, there are a few things you must consider.
Hardware
When thinking about the devices to purchase, organizations need to pay attention to their employees’ needs. UI/UX designers and software engineers will need more computing power than accountants and marketers. You might also choose to increase the flexibility of your specialists by providing them with laptops instead of PCs.
Software
After hardware requirements, it’s time to switch to the software programs your employees would use for work. First, consider the Office software package, as most of your employees will work with different types of documents and spreadsheets. As a next step, develop a communication system and pay special attention to email, as every employee will use it to send and receive information from peers and customers.
Communication:
Email is a key communication tool for your business. Getting the right system is essential to communicate effectively and manage the messages you send and receive. It’s hard to compare email service providers unless you have some understanding of what would best fit your needs. A helpful way can be to start thinking about – how many email addresses you would need, how your business is likely to grow and what software and devices you use.
Choose Trusted Software Vendors
Choosing and managing hardware and software vendors can play an instrumental role towards an efficient and high performance infrastructure. Before you enter into a long-term contract with providers, whenever possible, use the “try before you buy” model as the early stages of the relationship can be an indicator of the support you will receive. Action, reaction, and communication during times when something goes wrong will help gauge the after sales support.
Cloud Computing
Cloud computing relates to computing services such as server, file storage, networking, analytics, software and the like, delivered over the Internet from anywhere and everywhere. Cloud computing providers bill companies based on the resources they use, reducing the upfront costs they face and helping them distribute the cost of their business IT needs. An IT service provider company can help you find the right cloud computing solution for your company, and set up the cloud infrastructure with a minimum of disruption to your everyday business operations.
Security:
Security upkeep and maintenance can contribute towards a huge expense for your IT infrastructure, if not planned well – your network, firewall, server access, end-user devices, emails, etc. can be compromised These are all prone to potential cyber attacks, or infiltration and have the potential to completely collapse your entire system.
Security maintenance and upkeep within the context of your IT infrastructure covers multiple things. To name a few, your cyber security protocols, security tools, network monitoring, and security patterns, testing form the core components.
Data security is also an integral part of an organization. The introduction of a well managed security framework becomes a crucial part of the DevOps processes. An unbalanced security model can hamper the speed and agility of the business, bringing huge losses on revenue and brand image. With the help of IT consulting services, the organization can seamlessly follow a transition process without causing any harm to the development cycles.
Make scalable:
When setting up your IT infrastructure, it’s significant that you keep scalability at the forefront of your thinking at all times. It’s essential to procure products with administrative scalability, growth potential and with the option for adding functionalities at a later date. Doing the leg work now will help you avoid future switching costs such as company-wide retraining, not to mention skipping the headache of lost and irrecoverable data.
Basically, an IT infrastructure is effectively your organization’s central nervous system, supporting operations through the transportation of data. For small and medium businesses, it is important that their IT infrastructure should be simple, cost-efficient, and easy to manage. Many of the small and medium enterprises opt to outsource the IT infrastructure management system and related applications. A trusted managed services provider can even perform the responsibility as an extension of the IT departments along with giving you access to experienced professionals and other resources to improve service levels and minimize downtime.
