When considering how you want to run your company’s IT, you might consider doing it yourself. After all, you won’t have to pay someone else for the job you can do yourself, so what’s the problem?
As we’ll discover, do-it-yourself IT actually comes with lots of risks. Let’s examine some of them.
You Won’t Have Time to Keep Up With Security
Computer security is an always-on concern that requires diligence. You might know to flip on a firewall and install an antivirus software, but what about all the big threats that could attack your business?
In May 2017, the WannaCry ransomware attack took down thousands of companies across the world. It spread via an insecure network protocol that’s still enabled in Windows by default. Disabling it secures your network and it easy to do, but many people would miss this.
Other non-obvious scenarios abound; many of which you probably wouldn’t realize until it was too late. What if you accidentally allowed guest devices to connect to your internal network? Who is teaching employees good password habits so their login credentials aren’t compromised? And if you don’t have alerts set up to let you know when something does happen, it could be weeks before you’re aware.
You Might Forgo Backup, A Deadly Move
Having a disaster recovery plan is one of the most important aspects of a business. A natural disaster, theft, or malware attack could destroy your company’s data in moments. Without a way to recover it all, your company could be unable to recover.
That’s why having a solid backup plan is vital. Not only do you need a comprehensive backup, but it also needs thorough testing. Running through the recovery process ahead of a disaster can detect potential issues or oversights before they cost you big.
Navigating the World of Business Licensing is Confusing
Most business applications offer pricing plans for different-sized companies. Figuring out the differences between plans and finding which one is best for your business can take a lot of time. And picking the wrong one could have serious consequences.
If you take the time to deploy a new program and it turns out to not support a major feature you need, that’s a lot of money and time wasted. Breaking license terms could even result in an audit and legal trouble in extreme cases.
Like other items on this list, making these mistakes comes down to a lack of knowledge and shortage of time. You could certainly take the time to research and learn the best options for your company, but your other duties prevent you from spending the time to do that.
Big Surprises Can Be Costly
What happens if you don’t realize that Microsoft is no longer supporting Windows XP, which half the computers in your company run? Are you ready to migrate your company from Windows 7 before its support ends in 2020? Do you know how to configure Windows Update settings so that every employee doesn’t have to sit through an hour-long update when they turn their computers on in the morning?
These big scenarios sound scary, but planning for them is a big part of mastering IT. A huge mistake like the above could cost your company untold hours in reparation.
You Can’t Do It All on Your Own
Even if your business is small enough that you think you could do the IT alone, it will (hopefully) soon grow. When that happens, you’ll find that IT demands more of your time. Hiring more employees means more time spent setting up new users, helping them fix issues, and more licenses to manage.
Eventually, IT will become your full-time position. Even if you’re great at it, you’ll eventually need a team to perform the job. Transferring all your knowledge and experience to them will take a while — it would have been better to outsource it from the start.
Don’t Do It Yourself
Doing IT on your own might sound attractive at first. But the risks aren’t worth it. Eventually, you’ll fall behind on the latest trends, make a costly mistake, or grow so much that you need additional help.
Letting IT professionals handle your infrastructure from the start allows you to focus on your business and let experts handle the details. You’ll have peace of mind, and your company will be much more stable. Everyone wins — that’s pretty great.
If you’re running IT on your own and are looking for a better way, see what Houk Consulting can offer your business.