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Office IT slow and services intermittence: Overcoming these issues starts from choosing the right technology
By Nick Tang
August 12th, 2024 @ 4:32 PM GMT+8
In responding to companies that requested for Covertech’s assistance with their IT issues, such as slowness, sluggish performance, or intermittent services, we discovered that one of the main contributing factors to these problems was the use of inappropriate devices. Some had deployed home-grade products in an office setting, which led to the issues they experienced.
The settings and requirements in a corporate office differ significantly from those in a residential environment. As an example, when dealing with office documents and servers, businesses prioritize security and confidentiality as compared with residential networks. Additionally, households typically have fewer devices compared to an office environment. The office network can be further burdened by personal and visitor devices connecting to it. If these devices are infected with malware and virus, they can cause significant risks to your office's network environment.
With different business strategic directions, different companies will have unique technology needs. Hence, some key considerations will need to be taken into before deploying new or upgrading technology:
1. Reliability, Capacity, and Uptime
The technology must be stable and capable of handling varying user loads at different times. A typical workday requires a stable internet connection for daily communication as well as Web Conferencing / International and Domestic Online Meetings in a borderless setting. A corporate WiFi router should prioritize online meetings over less critical activities like video streaming, ensuring optimal performance during peak times.
2. Scalability and Expandability
The technology should be scalable with the company growing needs without causing downtime or requiring significant reinvestment. This ensures that the technological infrastructure supports business expansion seamlessly.
3. Manageability and Sustainability
From the business strategic direction and technology invested, IT administrators should be enabled to perform the necessary technical supporting tasks of policy controls and audit trails. These would address operational policy needs, with ability to identify root causes of issues, while facilitating troubleshooting and improvements.
4. Upgrades and Patches
An organization use multiple devices, such as computers, smartphones, photocopier, smart TV, CCTV, door access system and other smart technology, which require regular updates to address vulnerabilities. Every non-updated device could post threats to the organization’s technological infrastructure. Reputable manufacturers provide security patches and updates to ensure ongoing protection to reduce vulnerabilities.
5. Risk Management and Recovery
Technology selected should support rapid recovery in the event of a disruption, minimizing downtime and mitigating issues to ensure minimal business impact. This calls for the need to address risk management in disaster recoveries when finalizing technology selection.
As departments within a business organization will require different hardware and software setup to deliver its intended outcome, choosing the right type of technology is critically challenging. Consequences of incorrect choices include significant setbacks through costly reworks of resources, re-investments, set-up time, etc. To ensure a seamless integration and operation, following the implementation of the right technology, with appropriate IT Support, employees would be able to use the technology to support their work deliverables. This itself helps the Company gain optimum return on its Technology investments.