IT Best Practices for 2021

Let’s face it: We all hoped to be back in the office by now. However, there has been a massive rise in COVID cases. This has forced many businesses to remain remote for longer or re-implement remote work procedures. This increases their reliance on specialized programs and IT support.

The pandemic laid bare a lot of problems with many companies’ existing IT infrastructure. It also emphasized the importance of remote work support. As we move towards the end of 2021 and into a new year, we need to shore up our policies and practices. These IT best practices will help you not only update your company’s IT department but keep it running smoothly through the next year.

Focus on Security Above All Else

It seems like almost every time you visit a news website, you hear of another massive data breach, or a DDoS attack, or a ransomware attack. Hackers know that more companies than ever have moved their services online.

They also know that most do not currently have the necessary security to keep their information safe. So, it’s in the best interests of both the parent company and the IT department to focus on implementing proper cybersecurity measures.

If dedicated cybersecurity memos haven’t already gone out to all company employees, they should. Especially with our current dependence on remote work. So much of security these days comes down to the password habits and protections set up by employees on their home computers.

Reinforce or Rebuild Infrastructure

It takes a great deal of effort for any information technology department to build a remote work platform. Or to construct any other online system where the infrastructure simply did not exist. Even businesses that have some semblance of an online network haven’t updated it in several years, if not a decade. This makes the burden placed on the systems by remote work, cloud storage, and other always-online services exceed the existing capacity of the servers.

All industries are feeling the strain of working with limited servers and older online data infrastructure. Even gaming companies like Square Enix struggle to keep up with the extensive demands on their resources. So, if ever there were a time to reinforce your current online infrastructure for business success, this would be it.

Prioritize the Channels of Communication

Streaming is so ubiquitous these days that people don’t really think about how much of a data hog it can be. Though, if you get a chance, ask someone with poor phone service or home internet. They will tell you how impossible it is to do anything else when trying to watch the latest Netflix series.

This data streaming and the throttling it can incur also apply to VoIP (Voice-Over Internet Protocol) services. It even applies to apps like Zoom, Skype, and other similar platforms.

Data is data, and all data consumes bandwidth. Video and audio data consume larger amounts of that bandwidth. This means that if you don’t have the systems in place to support it, you can find yourself without the data needed to conduct necessary business operations.

So, as part of their IT strategy, every business needs to try and prioritize having enough data to support the channels of communication used by the company.

Find Ways to Reduce Costs Without Losing Quality

As we mentioned above, reinforcing existing online infrastructure is crucial to business success. However, installing new systems or hardwiring new tech can be an expensive prospect. This is in part due to the necessity of having qualified help on hand to run and manage these systems.

However, another part of the equation that makes adding to infrastructure difficult is the massive part shortages impacting the entire electronics industry. So, how can you combat this?

Simply put: You need to find ways that you can reduce the costs of building or increasing your IT infrastructure without losing quality on the parts or people involved. Find where redundancies exist and eliminate them. Figure out ways that you can make your operation more efficient so that you can get the most money for your investment.

Now Is the Time for Clouds

All the lists involving IT best practices over the past several years have sung the praises of cloud-based solutions, and with good reason. Cloud storage and cloud-based servers can allow easier access to necessary connections and files from all device types. This often offers a much lower cost than an on-site, dedicated server.

In fact, you’d be hard-pressed to find an IT support company that doesn’t advertise its cloud capabilities front and center these days. This has the dual benefit of keeping costs down for you and allowing remote adjustments to be made on the fly, without someone needing to visit or hover over the on-site server.

Don’t Fear AI-Based Solutions

Artificial intelligence occupies an odd position in information technology. For the layperson, a company that uses artificial intelligence for chatbots, emails, and other functions, can come across as disconcerting. However, for an IT department, they present a unique opportunity to automate functions that would otherwise require dedicated personnel. They can also provide a filter for the variety of unnecessary questions that plague most IT support companies.

AI-based chatbots and email respondents are growing in popularity. With each passing year, they become more sophisticated and nuanced. This allows them to handle a variety of concerns that otherwise would have required customer support workers. Don’t fear using an AI solution to improve the user experience or cut down on payroll costs.

If It Can Be Automated, It Should Be

Most companies these days have moved beyond their stubborn need to oversee every single detail of their business’s online functions. If there are any processes that your IT department can conduct with an automated process, implement that process.

The more hands-off you can make the inner workings of your network, the more time you have to handle client concerns and the less time you have to spend on-site. That’s not to say that the human element should completely leave the wheel: Some processes still need that extra bit of oversight.

However, if someone proposes a feasible automation solution, implement it. It will save you time and money in the long run.

Keep the Consumer and User Experience Consistent

What’s one of the biggest reasons for consumer pushback to AI-based solutions and automated systems? Simply put, they feel that the experience they get with a bot versus with a human worker is inconsistent. Or perhaps the chatbot comes across as friendly. Meanwhile, the automated emails seem like soulless corporate responses.

Perhaps the company website’s interface is simple and clean on a desktop computer but looks cluttered when browsed on a mobile device. Or perhaps the app doesn’t respond the same way the website does. Each of these little inconsistencies, while only an inconvenience on their own, destroy consumer and user faith in a company.

So, as part of your IT best practices, make sure to keep the experience consistent across all platforms and through all interactions. That builds brand loyalty.

Keep Up With Maintenance

We’ve touched on this in terms of data infrastructure. Let’s be realistic: When was the last time your company or IT department properly maintained the servers or the computer network? When were they last updated to install the latest Windows updates or security hotfixes?

Was there ever a point in the recent past where the servers were allowed to power off, reset, then power back on? If not, then the question as to why the network doesn’t seem to be behaving all but answers itself.

So often, we’re in a rush to implement the newest, the latest technological solution. So much of a rush that we forget that sometimes, a simple round of maintenance is all it takes to get things back up and running. Make sure that you’re staying on top of your maintenance. Then, you won’t have to close things down for hours on end while update after update after update tries to install.

Have the Right People in Place

It’s impossible to conduct a complete digital overhaul of the company’s existing IT framework when you have an intransigent old guard in place. People who stick by outdated metrics or methods that no longer work in the modern framework should not have positions of power within your IT department.

Information technology is a rapidly evolving field, and those at the top of it need to be constantly learning. If they aren’t learning and adapting to the changing times, they don’t need to be making decisions on your business practices.

Looking for More IT Best Practices?

The above list of IT best practices for 2021 can offer some exceptional insights into what you can do to improve as a company. However, it is far from exhaustive. If you’re in the market for more ways that you can improve or rebuild your IT strategy, then why not check out our blog? We update each day with more helpful business and technology articles like this one!