Just a decade ago, businesses could close their doors at 7 p.m., then go home and enjoy an evening with the family. But with the rapid rise of ecommerce and online account management, consumers now expect to not only have access to your company 24 x 7, but to be able to interact and process transactions.
Most organizations have found that the ability to process orders, collect payments and disseminate information “off-hours” is essential. More than that, for many the term “off-hours” is no longer even applicable, as they are required to keep staff (or at least functionality) on a constant basis. Still, technology still often needs human interaction, and humans like to have vacations. If your company is planning a few days off for the holiday break, who will be watching your network?
Customer or Criminal – There is No Holiday Break
Unfortunately, we know that consumers are fickle and impatient. In the world which technology has created, most consumers brand loyalty has worn thin. With more choices and options than ever, experts agree that if your website is glitchy, or if they can’t process an order or get the answers they need – they will move on to a competitor.
Arguably worse is the potential for cyber criminals to exploit the downtime when “no one is watching” to steal your data or access your financial systems. Hackers don’t take holidays, and the malware is becoming more and more sophisticated. If they break into your system over a holiday break, you may not notice until it is too late. It is clear that for most companies wanting to stay secure into 2020, constant network monitoring and offsite redundancy is no longer a luxury, but a necessity.
Criminals are Vigilant
The criminals are vigilantly watching for the opportunity to infiltrate your network, so you have to be equally vigilant to protect it. But even if your network is cyber-safe, a technical glitch could destroy your revenue stream. So what to do?
The obvious answer is to have someone constantly monitoring the network to make sure it stays operational and safe from attack. You may have an IT department who can work shifts monitoring the network over the holiday break, but many companies do not. Small to medium sized businesses often delegate network responsibility to the office manager, or the marketing guy. While they may be perfectly capable of helping a user to install new software, connect to the printer or reboot their system – they may not have the knowledge of the most up-to-date cyber threats, or how to recover an entire network which has been destroyed by fire or flood.
Managed services (or co-managed IT services) may be the best answer for every Sarasota company, no matter their size. Not only will your employees be freed up to do what they do best, but your company network will be monitored and protected consistently. This surveillance is executed by professionals who know how to spot, intercept, and mitigate any attack or technical glitch before it becomes catastrophic. While many think managed services to be out of their reach budgetarily, these types of services can actually save an organization money by reducing overhead, minimizing revenue or data loss, and making sure that the network is available when the consumer wants to access it. Over the long run, businesses find that their hardware and software costs are reduced, that their operations are streamlined, and their revenue stream is protected.
Give your organization – and your employees – a holiday gift this year. Call Alliance IT for a no-obligation consultation as to how we can help your business to thrive. Because no matter who is watching your network this holiday – we’ll make sure it stays up and running.
