Do you need a Computer, Software or Network Technology Assessment? Are you at risk?In most cases, if you do not have a full-time, qualified and experienced IT professional on staff, the answer is Yes.
Do a quick analysis:
Security:
- Do we have a technology security plan that assures our company data is secure?
- Do our vendors have access to security information we don’t know about?
- Who can access our system locally or remotely?
- Is my client’s personal information protected from theft? Are we at risk?
Information/Data:
- Do I have an inventory of logins and passwords for our network devices?
- Do we have an inventory of software, hardware, and licensing?
- Is there a software patch management plan for our servers, computers, and firewalls?
- Do employees have access to sensitive business information?
- Do we have access to our security plan off-site?
System Backup and Recovery
- What is our backup plan for business information stored on servers & workstations? Have we tested the plan?
- Do we know what to do and who to rely on if our system fails?
- How long should it take to recover if our systems fail, and what is the impact on our business and our clients?
ItsOnlyComputers will make sure your data and equipment are secure, fully documented, up to date, and provide a plan for system back-up and recovery.
Don’t put your personal, company, or client data at risk, schedule an assessment with ItsOnlyComputers Today!
A basic IT audit checklist
Bring your own device policies have made it easier for IT to lose track of the hardware being used in the business. Less restrictive policies don’t just allow employees to bring in personal devices; they mean those with access to departmental budgets can amass all sorts of hardware without running the purchases through IT.
Your accounts department should be able to give you the official list of what hardware has been purchased. But other purchases might not have been given an “IT” code when run through accounts.
Now is a good time to survey department heads to see what’s actually in use. You’re likely in for some surprises. You’ll find some employees working on consumer devices they own and others working on consumer devices the company bought.
You can track the findings in a basic spreadsheet, but it’s better to use a dedicated desktop management app. Knowing what’s actually happening will help you look into whether there are better ways to pay for what employees need. Talk to us about Airtable, we’ll help you organize and track all aspects of your computer network, software inventory, social media accounts, and logins/passwords securely.
Keep an eye out for PCs, servers, printers, and other office hardware that’s close to end-of-life or end-of-lease. Work with your account department and suppliers to put together a plan for easing out the old to bring in the new.
Find out what software is running on your machines—and which machines it’s running on.
Ask what budget was used to buy it. Again, this information will help you make better decisions in the future.
Remember, software can also have a use-by date if the vendor isn’t going to support it. And software as a service (SaaS) subscriptions do expire.
Those might not only be corporate subscriptions. Find out if employees are subscribing to their own cloud solutions. Even when those services are paid for on corporate credit cards, they can slip through accounting because they aren’t assigned to the right budget.
That problem is minor compared to those that can arise with employees downloading untested cloud software.
Security software, like antivirus apps, virtual private network solutions, and encryption, needs special attention. You don’t want to find your license or subscription has lapsed when it’s key to your defenses.
Just by walking the floors, you’ll be amazed at what hardware and software use you spot that wasn’t picked up in the process. You may also discover policies that are not being followed by your employees or as we’ve seen at every audit, a user’s passwords on a sticky note on the monitor.