Did your IT guy just quit?
It’s not uncommon in a small business for the resident IT expert to wield a surprising amount of power. They do, after all, provide the knowledge and expertise that keeps your operations flowing smoothly. When only one or two people in the office know how to make those tools work, problems can quickly arise, especially if that person quits unexpectedly. What some business owners don’t realize is that it’s rarely as simple as just hiring “another IT guy.” Your new IT expert is going to need access to information that the previous one had in order to do his or her job effectively.
Do You Have a Game Plan?
You’d be surprised how much knowledge your IT guy might be carrying in his head when he walks out the door – knowledge you’re going to need desperately if you want to keep your business up and running. Here are just a few things you should make sure you always have access to:
Documentation
Do you know off-hand what software licenses you’ve purchased and what usage and time frames they cover? What about authentication keys in case you have to reinstall that software? How about warranties for your hardware? Do you have records of the contracts you have with SaaS (Software as a Service) and cloud service vendors?
If you can’t easily access this information, without your IT guy’s input, that’s a big problem.
Backups and Network Restoration
What system is your IT expert using to back up your data, and how often is it being backed up? Do you have the necessary usernames and passwords? If your network goes down, do you know the necessary steps to take to get it up again? What’s your disaster recovery plan?
This is information that’s good to know even if your IT expert is out of the office for a few days, and it’s critical to know if he quits. Even if you hire a new IT expert the very next day, they’re going to have to spend time familiarizing themselves with your network if there isn’t documentation of these things.
Security
What happens if your IT expert quits, and you don’t know how to deny them access to your systems? Can they be accessed remotely? What steps can you take to avoid a security breach?
It’s unsettling to think a trusted former employee might do something malicious to your network, but it happens, and you should protect yourself against it.
Another Solution
There is an easier way to overcome these challenges: Managed IT services. Hiring a managed IT service is a great way to avoid all of the problems above. First, you’ll be greatly reducing the chance of your IT support simply disappearing out of the blue. Second, they’ll keep detailed records and thorough documentation, so if you do end up handing the network over to another company, they’ll know how it’s been managed previously.
Managed IT services might not be for every company, but it’s a great solution for small businesses that might otherwise be giving one IT expert far too much sway over future success.
