As Texas businesses start to reopen following the shutdowns enforced by the COVID-19 pandemic, many of these businesses seek to return to their previous norms as far as welcoming foot traffic, serving diners, and making in-person sales. But business owners shouldn’t dismiss what that shutdown period had to teach them about the pros and cons of their current IT setups -- especially since a second wave of infections (or some other similar crisis) might force a repeat of the situation. So our Austin IT support team asks: What have you learned about your IT system’s strengths and weaknesses?

Let’s address the issue of remote work capabilities first. Did you find yourself scrambling to come up with the right cloud-based project collaboration platform? While videoconference technology can enable groups to discuss projects and share PowerPoint presentations, you may have felt that you needed a more graceful interface, one that allowed for easy real-time file sharing and project management. Now’s the time to investigate your options.

Speaking of videoconference technology, how smoothly have your options addressed your workplace needs thus far? Whether you’re using Zoom, Google Meet or some other platform, you may have encountered irritating lags or breakups in communication. Is your IT system’s bandwidth up to the task? Do you need to boost its speed, or add redundancy to it?

Shifting your business emphasis from in-person sales to online sales during the pandemic may have taxed both your connectivity and your servers. Do you have the hardware you need to maintain a strong, reliable online presence for customers and vendors? Has increased online traffic also increased your need for state-of-the-art firewall protection and regular backups/patches?

These are questions well worth asking now that you understand the need to ready your organization for anything, including possible future lockdowns. Contact us to discuss the matter further!