Now that we are fully into this new year, here are a few trends that small businesses should look into for their organizations.
Movement Toward a Hybrid Cloud Solution
There has been a lot of talk over the last several years about migrating to the cloud. Indeed, many companies have moved full steam ahead into cloud solutions, while others have hung back, waiting to see if it is just a fad. The cloud can mean any number of things, but we often refer to it as your data (be that files, applications, etc.) stored on someone else’s computer — typically in a facility that houses hundreds of computers and servers.
Well, it’s not a fad. The cloud is here to stay, and companies should be investigating cloud-based options. They are often more affordable, more scalable and more mobile than in-house options. But, having said that, we have also seen a trend in companies that jumped on board at the beginning of the cloud “wave” and are now pulling some of their resources back in-house. Some of the reasons for this happening are that companies are finding that some things make good financial and operational sense to move offsite and others just don’t. The trick is doing a thorough evaluation beforehand. More companies are finding that a hybrid solution, one that has a combination of on-premise technology and some cloud-based technology, is ultimately the best way to go as opposed to an all or nothing solution. If you are still housing all your infrastructure onsite, it is probably overdue for you to see what the cloud has to offer. You are likely going to find that certain areas of your organization will run better and more cost effectively with a cloud-based solution — of some type.
Increasing Security Awareness Training
I find myself writing about security more and more these days, and the reason is this: I believe it is the single most important IT-related issue for small businesses out there. Security threats continue to run neck and neck with security solutions when things are good, or they stride far ahead of our attempts to thwart them when things are bad. The issue is that small businesses are too often unaware of the risks and do not have solid security protocols in place. On the good side, it does appear that small business owners are catching on to this and are taking action in an area that their IT provider is often limited: increasing employee awareness through education. More employers are recognizing that, particularly with the spread of social engineering (hackers and the like manipulating people to give up important information — think of those emails asking you to provide your bank information), the more they can educate their employees not to fall prey to these sly maneuvers, the less risk there is to their organizations. To date, many of these trainings remain available only to larger organizations, but there is an increase in cost-affordable options for your staff. Keep an eye out, and strongly consider investing in ongoing (ongoing is key) security awareness training for you and your team.
Increased Emphasis on Cloud Backup and Recovery
Along with recognizing that small businesses must do more on the security front, small business owners are also recognizing that not all threats can be protected against and the best protection for data loss or corruption is having a good backup in place. There is a huge move toward cloud-based backup and recovery solutions, which are necessary for a good disaster recovery plan and are the best defense for threats like CryptoWall and other malware that hold critical data for ransom (CryptoWall is malware that “locks” your files so that you cannot even view them unless you pay a hacker to provide you with the key to unlock them). Previously, these solutions were incredibly expensive for small businesses and retrieving data often took much longer than acceptable. But, these solutions are becoming more economical and more robust with faster recovery times. Just make sure you don’t opt for only a file and folder backup. That won’t help you when you have a disaster that requires you to rebuild your infrastructure (including server policies, permissions, etc.) from scratch. Unfortunately, this rules out most consumer-grade solutions, but again, the costs have improved significantly over the last few years.
Data Storage Minimization
Finally, we are starting to recognize that we just have too much stuff! In the case of IT, it’s years’ worth of computer data. As companies begin to store more in the cloud, they are realizing there is a cost to holding on to excessive files they don’t need any more. Many companies are developing policies for reviewing and archiving data that is not necessary to the day-to-day operations. While some of us must hold on to data for regulatory purposes, not all do, and not all of the data that does need to be held on to needs to be as accessible. We are recognizing that keeping data streamlined and limited to only what is necessary to efficiently run our businesses can be a big cost savings.
For more information about what the cloud can do for you and how you can best utilize it, how to increase your security awareness, or the best method to clean up your old data, reach out to your IT professional or contact one who understands not just the technology but the importance and impact on your business.