Computers often require upgrades and new parts in order to prolong their life span and continue to perform at a high standard, much like servers, storage and networking equipment within your IT infrastructure. Circle IT CEO Roger Harry lays out some useful tips in his latest IT Channel Expert column, to help you look after your IT Infrastructure.
The first step in taking care of your kit is to monitor its performance and to check that your system can endure even when your company is expanding. You may find that you have greater data requirements as you grow. You can purchase more storage or you might decide to use software to support and improve your network’s performance. It is best to use open networking solutions without vendor lock in when initially designing your IT infrastructure – this will allow you to update your system at a later date when required.
Knowing how much load is running through your network is important. Larger businesses might opt to purchase a management tool to analyse the system in detail. Smaller businesses might opt to have this process outsourced.
It is advised that all hardware should be replaced every 5 years, however the constraint of budgets and green policies can often make this near impossible. Servers and storage that are critical to the business certainly need to adhere to this rule, other systems may deviate based on their importance.
If you are experiencing slow application performance, data processing problems, or issues making and receiving voice calls, your networking switches may need replacing. The frequency of which switches should be replaced depends on their capability and knowing how your network is performing overall will also help you determine when to update your kit.
Another step to maximising the efficiency of your IT infrastructure is a good old spring clean. By clearing out old, unnecessary files and updating software you can keep the cost of running your infrastructure to a minimum.
Finally, but perhaps most importantly, you need an IT security system that works for you and your business. Protecting your sensitive data and documents is undoubtedly vital, but an attack on your network can also cause terrible damage resulting in costly repairs or even replacement of your systems.
There are many areas to consider when determining whether your IT infrastructure is in need of an upgrade or not. It is important to get the most out of your equipment, but equally important to avoid the risk of outages, security threats and drops in productivity. Gartner recommends putting policies in place to review the requirements of your infrastructure as your business requirements change, base the policy on risk assessments, budget boundaries and technical innovation.
To find out more what CEO Roger Harry says about IT Health checks read his full article on IT Channel Expert.
Get in touch today to learn how Circle IT can modernise your IT infrastructure, Contact Us or call our friendly team on 0330 300 8001.
