5 GOOD REASONS YOUR BUSINESS NEEDS AN IT AUDIT
"IT Audit" sounds bad, like hard work, & something you wouldn't sign up for. But an IT Audit is not like a tax department audit where the HMRC check your records and punish you for your mistakes.
If done correctly, an audit of the technology in your small business should be quick and painless and yield you with some valuable information. They are about saving you pain & preventing problems.
Here are our top 5 reasons why your business would benefit from a technology audit:
1. Find immediate areas for improvement – If you’re thinking of replacing your computer, an audit may reveal that upgrading the memory would give you a significant performance boost. It could also highlight incorrect system settings or poor security configurations that could easily be fixed. With a clear picture of what technology you have, it might be easy to find some quick, inexpensive areas for improvement.
2. Budget for longer-term areas of improvement – An audit may reveal out-dated hardware that should be replaced with newer, faster components. It could also highlight disks that are close to their capacity, but still have some spare space. You can then plan and budget to address these areas in the future, instead of having to react tomorrow to an unforeseen full disk.
3. Know what software is on your computers – If your employees are able to install software onto your computers, do you know what they have been installing? An audit will reveal if your computers have illegal file sharing software or other programs that may be relevant to their hobbies, not their work (e.g. share trading).
4. Know you have the correct software licenses – In some cases, it is a software manufacturer’s right to randomly audit your business and check that you have the correct license number and the right kind of license for their software. If you’ve taken on more staff since you started, or you’ve had employees installing software on your computers, an audit can reveal where your software licensing might need some attention.
5. Compile an asset register – Your business will have certain assets listed for accounting purposes. That audit may not include many of your IT devices that are under a certain monetary value. If a theft or natural disaster hit your business, wouldn’t it be great to have a full list of all of your technology components? Ask your I.T. guy to store a copy of your audit results, off site, in case you need to refer to that asset list to make an insurance claim.
The outcomes of your audit should be a comprehensive list of your I.T. assets and recommendations for improvement that fit in with your business plans (both short and long term). If your I.T. guy uses your audit as an opportunity to sell as much of his products and services as he can, call Dove Computer Solutions for an independent trusted second opinion.