From all of us at Aptica, Happy New Year! For me, a new year always bring the promise of new friends, new opportunities, and inevitably—new challenges. As a local small business, we know we are farther down the road to our success goals, and as members of the community we are grateful for the opportunities to raise happy children here in this multi-faceted region of Indiana. There is a lot going on and a lot to appreciate.
For my friends and my clients in business, I wish you a strong year of progress and achievement, and I wish you peace with your IT this year. I believe if you have the right tools and if they are properly maintained, you will more easily reach your 2019 goals. I’m thinking mostly about your IT tools, of course, as those are now the bedrock of everyday commerce.
Some Thoughts About Having A “Peaceful” IT Year
The everyday tasks of managing assets, staff, budgets, and expectations can be so demanding that often best practices and systems will fall by the wayside. It’s easiest to neglect that part of your enterprise that you know the least about. This year, whether you understand Information Technology in its current applications or not, you should commit to putting your best tech foot forward.
Bridge That Gap Between Your Business and IT
Business owners and IT companies should strive to understand each other’s needs and capabilities and to agree on the most efficient and cost-effective tools available. If IT understands your business, they can know the difference between wants and needs—and this helps structure your IT investment.
Sometimes “I need” means “I’ll pay for it”, and “I want” means “you’ll pay for it.” If management and IT are on the same page for wants and needs, that can help forge a cleaner and more direct path forward when it comes to IT investment.
Look At Your IT As An Innovation Resource, Not A Cost Center
Don’t look at your IT department as overhead; invest in your IT infrastructure after learning where you can derive value. This can mean focusing not just on how to get by with the least amount of investment but focusing on how to get the most out of your investment. Too often the least expensive option may not actually offer your business the best bang for your buck. At the same time, it’s never worth it to overspend. Take the time to find an IT company you feel you can trust, then let them teach you about cost removal and about maximizing the value per dollar spent. The right IT choices at the outset can save money in the long run because it will work better and require less maintenance.
Create and Expand A Healthy Cybersecurity Culture
Security is the key to the survival of any business. Security software, strategies and leading-edge tools will be strong defenses, but you must also have a solid and supportive culture where all employees, managers and owners feel responsible for the company’s cyber safety. Most hack attacks involve some level of behavioral engineering like phishing, spoofing, or even just booting up in the morning. Ask everyone at every level to commit to “if you see something, say something.”
Let IT Specialists Like Aptica Help You
My New Year’s advice to you is to innovate with your technology thoughtfully and with care. Take smaller risks as you move forward, not letting systems either stagnate or run out of control. See if you can leverage your old technology in new ways and also look at leveraging new technologies in new ways. Make peace with your computers. They are now as essential as electricity and I’m pretty convinced they are here to stay—but with ever-changing capabilities.
Jason Newburg, 260.243.5100, ext 2001, is the founder and owner of Aptica LLC. This IT management and support company has been serving small to medium sized businesses for 15 years in the area that includes Angola, South Bend, and Fort Wayne, IN, Battle Creek, MI, and Toledo OH.