In the dynamic world of technology, the only thing you can count on is change. Your business always needs to be one step ahead when it comes to protecting your assets against the rising tide of cybercrime and innovating quickly to capitalize on new opportunities. And with the end of the year just around the corner, now is a great time to reevaluate your technology strategy.
How IT strategy has changed in 2020
For many business leaders, 2020 has been a trying year, with a major focus on surviving the often crippling uncertainties. That said, it’s also important to recognize the fact that Covid-19 highlighted the preexisting lack of adaptability that many businesses had before. As such, it’s served as a catalyst for change, accelerating the adoption of scalable digital technologies and the era of remote work. These trends will no doubt continue through next year and beyond to help businesses create more sustainable and disaster-proof futures.
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With that in mind, let’s look at some of the new years’ IT resolutions you should be making:
#1. Focus on remote work
Remote work was already a well-established trend before stay-at-home mandates made it a requirement for many companies. Upon realizing the benefits of flexible work environments, many companies have decided to extend their remote work policies until well into 2021, with some even intending to make it permanent.
Even as things get back to normal in the months ahead, businesses should consider keeping their remote work policies in place. Many employees have grown used to working from home, now that technology has made it easier than ever. Moreover, companies have invested a lot in things like cloud computing, so it makes sense to focus on remote work in the long term too.
#2. Eliminate data silos
Today’s businesses have a practically limitless choice of different apps and platforms. While that might sound like a good thing, the fact that the typical enterprise now has dozens or even hundreds of apps in its portfolio inevitably leads to a myriad of issues. Incompatibilities lead to data silos that can stifle efficiency and communication between branches and departments.
To better prepare your company for future unknown circumstances, it needs to be adaptable and have a robust disaster recovery strategy in place. Moreover, employees need to be able to share data easily. Eliminating data silos helps you keep your assets safe and get maximum value out of them.
#3. Bolster your defenses
Cybercriminals have been out in force over the past year trying to exploit the pandemic. Many companies have had to roll out remote work environments and new technologies in very little time, which has also made vulnerabilities all but inevitable. Cybercriminals often exploit remote workers and poorly secured connections and endpoints.
It’s never too early to start thinking about bolstering your defenses, not least because security will continue to be a major concern through 2021 and beyond. In addition to preparing for the worst with a proper disaster recovery plan, you should also think about critical measures, such as endpoint encryption and multifactor authentication.
#4. Evaluate your compliance
The compliance landscape is constantly changing too, to adapt to evolving threat landscapes and increasing consumer concerns. For example, new data privacy laws are being introduced in several US states, in addition to international rules like GDPR. For companies in the defense supply chain, it’s also necessary to achieve CMMC compliance before the end of the year.
| Worried about CMMC? Read our complete guide to find out everything you need to know about CMMC 2.0 and how to achieve compliance. |
Business leaders should always be mindful about keeping up with the demands of regulatory compliance and, wherever possible, take a proactive approach in doing so. If you have strong disaster recovery strategies in place, combined with security and privacy by design, then you should be ready for future compliance assessments.
#5. Delegate tech workloads
Technology moves at a pace that many companies struggle to keep up with, and few smaller businesses can afford to maintain a fully staffed internal IT department. Sometimes, they end up trying to take care of everything themselves, even though they don’t have the necessary internal expertise and technical resources at their disposal.
To stay focused on running your business and its core goals and operations, the last thing you want is for technology to end up being a burden. That’s why IT management is often best left up to a managed services provider (MSP), who can serve as your outsourced IT department. Doing so will free up time, so you and your team can focus on doing what they do best.
Charles IT believes in delivering a seamless client experience with the optimal combination of cutting-edge technology and proactive support. Call us today to learn more about our services!