Tech hardware failures can often spell doom for a business, especially if you’re an up-and-coming startup with a bright future. Just a single day of failures and system crashes could lead to dozens or even hundreds of customers losing out on the services they paid for, and this can lead to a huge sum of lost profits. Even just a single computer failing could be disastrous for a new startup, especially if it’s what they rely on for day-to-day activities such as processing card payments and responding to their customers over the internet.
This is why it’s vital that you protect your business from these tech hardware failures. Failing to do this can lead to harsh consequences for your business, especially if your hardware is compromised and data is somehow stolen by online criminals. Thinking about all of the dire circumstances that you could end up in will only create more headaches, so why not focus on protecting your business from these situations in the first place?
Let’s take a look at a couple of ways to protect your business from tech hardware failures.
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Are you using cloud-based services?
Due to the nature of hardware failures being seemingly random and often unpredictable, it’s not uncommon to see businesses rely entirely on cloud-based services for most of their day-to-day activities. For instance, data backups are usually handled by cloud storage services, and a lot of companies use remote desktop technology which gives an underpowered laptop access to more powerful systems. This allows companies to give their employees the option to work away from the office, such as in their home or even abroad while conducting other business-related matters.
However, if you’re still not using cloud-based services then it means that a lot of your data and programs are stored locally. This means that if that computer were to fail, it’d take down all of that data and productivity with it. On the other hand, if you focus on cloud-based services as a priority, then the computer you use to access those services doesn’t really matter. If it fails, then you can simply log into those cloud services on another computer. This helps to establish some level of continuity while also opening up the possibility of remote work.
In short, if you aren’t already using cloud-based services then you should absolutely consider switching. Adopting a cloud-focused mentality can ultimately help protect your business from a variety of tech hardware failures. Of course, it does mean that you need to do a bit more to protect your business from cloud-related security breaches, but that’s something that is usually taken care of by the service providers.
Do you have backup devices and peripherals to use?
If you don’t already have some backups to use, then it may be worthwhile to purchase a few extra laptops and peripherals to use in the event that your current laptop stops working, or if an employee needs a replacement. You can search for a service that will lend you rent macbook pro devices, or you could simply purchase replacements that are owned by your company. These are both valid options and there’s no clear winner–it really just depends on your circumstances and what you can afford as a business.
Backups can also include hardware backups for your data. A lot of companies rely on the cloud to backup important customer data and projects, but it’s never a bad idea to include hardware backups too. This is great for companies that regularly produce a lot of data, or they work on media projects which can result in very large file sizes. For instance, a production company may use a lot of hard drives to store raw video data. This can be extremely large and unless you have a great internet connection, it might not be possible to upload these to an online backup service. The solution here is to create multiple backups by putting the video footage on various archival hard drives, or even setting up a server in a RAID configuration that protects against potential data loss.
Some final words
While a lot of people think about growing their business and scaling up, it’s also important to scale up any protective solutions that you have for your tech hardware. Failing to do this could lead to disaster which is never what you want. Make absolutely sure that you prepare backup solutions such as those described above, and this help stabilize your growth for the future.
