IT Staff Maintaining a Stable Internet
If the quality of your internet connection suffers it can be the death knell¹ of your businesses. At today’s pace of business and technological change some companies miss hearing their first two bells and only hear the third bell ring. Losing a connection doing business can ruin your success. For example, an undelivered email could be the worst thing that could happen during an important business negotiation. While this is usually the fault of your internet provider network unavailability can be anticipated.

Lack Of Protection From Power Interruptions 
Small business owners often forget to plan for common power supply interruptions. When the power goes off in the middle of a working day, it can be more than an inconvenience. Power surges upon computer startups can corrupt data and kill chips in PCs, printers and network appliances. Your business needs a properly sized back-up generator or UPS (uninterruptible power supply) system.

Obsolete Hardware
Most businesses that use computers every day replace them at around four years of age or sooner. Why? Several reasons. Technology improves every year and moving parts like hard drives, fans, and power supplies tend to fail at the most inopportune times. 

In 1965 Gordon Moore predicted a pattern that later came to be known as Moore’s aw. That law has remained reliable ever since. At its simplest the law predicts the doubling of hardware computing capacity every two years. As such, a four-year-old computer has one-quarter the capacity/productivity of a new computer bought for the about the same price as the one it is replacing.

In addition, as software programs are asked to do more and require more complex computations (think artificial intelligence, graphics processors, etc.) more processing actions are needed. Without deploying faster computer chips everything slows to a crawl.

Obsolete Software 
Did you buy business software some years ago and never updated it? It is amazingly common for small business owners to not think about updating their software. The common rational for the behavior says that “If it ain’t borken, don’t fix it!”  Keeping your software up to date gives you a competitive advantage over your peers and competitors. Your business processes will be more efficient and faster.

Inconsistent or Missing Data Protection
Small business owners are notorious for not keeping confidential business information safe from in company and external prying eyes. They keep all sorts of personal data, payment information, and sensitive files on their computer or spread across several unsecure computers that have inconsistent or absent backup procedures.   Data breaches happen every day to businesses large and small.

Small businesses need a solid backup plan that if followed results in minimal or no loss of data and to faster recovery.

Cyber Attacks 
Your website is extremely valuable, especially if it depends upon eCommerce. A hacker may attack your site and steal confidential customer data. They may also demand a ransom to restore your website’s functionality. For a small business, these technology problems are devastating, since they make the customers lose their trust in your brand. 

• Hiscox, a cybersecurity insurance provider, says that 47% of small businesses have suffered at least one cyberattack in the past year, and 21% have experienced two to four attacks
• A recent Enterprise Strategy Group survey found that 67% of small organizations experienced at least one cybersecurity incident over the past two years, with the most frequent causes being human error (35%), general lack of understanding about cyber risk (28%),and new IT initiatives (27%)
• According to Verizon, 92% of malware is delivered by email, and 58% of malware victims are small businesses

Lack Of Data Backup
Can you imagine losing all your valuable data? It can happen. Your main computer’s hard drive may get damaged. Your office devices can suffer damage from floods, fires, or earthquakes. Data can also be lost during a cyber attack. A robust backup is essential. You can store important data on a safe cloud service or an external hard drive.

Undertrained Staff 
Even if you don’t plan to establish an IT department for your business, you still need to hire people with proven IT skills. Many managers forget to verify IT staff competence. They tend to focus on the sales and management department. When the important tech problems occur, no one knows what to do. 

You should invest in ongoing employee training. All your employees need basic IT skills so that they will know how to use the software provided them. Don’t assume that you can save money on tech training, software, and security. This is one of the most important investments you can make for your business.

¹ Historically, the death knew was known a three bells that were rung to announce any death. The first bell announced an impending death. The second rung at the time of death, and the third bell called the lych bell or corpse bell was rung at the funeral.