What is ‘Information Technology’?Information Technology (IT) covers all things electronic in a business including computers, phones, other office equipment, mobile phones and organisers and computer software. The use of these items should make a business more efficient and more responsive to it clients needs. It should also ensure that the businesses can plan future development by keeping ahead of competitors by using this technology. This can be done by processing more data faster, producing more relevant information from the data and to allow the business to see trends in costs, sales and market conditions and act on it before their competitors can.
What typically IT issues arise in the business?- Overwhelming volume of relevant and irrelevant information that can swamp the user;
- Protecting the IT infrastructure from misuse by staff and from hackers;
- Protecting information from being stolen of lost;
- The training of personnel in order to get the best out of the technology;
- Technology not used to its full potentials is wasted money;
- Ensuring that your data and personal information you hold on clients or staff is secure;
- If your hardware fails to function your business may come to an end as all information is no longer available;
- Ensuring IT structures is not used in ways that might break the law;
- Software updates can be frequent and costly; and
- Hardware and software requires yearly maintenance contracts to ensure it continues to work properly.
What IT structure or framework is required in a business?Trained staff familiar with the needs of your business a who understand the necessity to keep the IT systems running at all times;
Suitable hardware and software that works for your business and gives a return on investment to your business; and
Reports produced in a timely and accurate manner that give concise and relevant information to the business owner that can be acted on quickly.
Document- Procedures for the permitted use of the IT infrastructure to ensure it is used for the benefit of the business;
- Documents stating what is not permitted to be done with the IT infrastructure;
- Procedures to ensure that backups take place and that the data on the backup tapes or offline site can be retrieved;
- A continuity plan for the business in the case of a power failure;
- Procedures to ensure that all software is licensed correctly to avoid being fined;
- Procedures to invoke in the case of the failure of any part of the computer system;
- Procedures to invoke in the case of the failure of any part of the telephone system; and
- The key areas for IT staff to monitor and ensure that they remain running at all times for the business.
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