Everybody needs a break. After working hard in your business it’s great to take a holiday, but all that good cheer and relaxation will go out the window in a moment if your business suffers an IT disaster while you’re away.
Here's a short checklist that we suggest you follow to help you avoid a holiday-wrecking business catastrophe:
- Check your firewall is up-to-date (software and firmware)
- Check your server is up-to-date (latest patches)
- Update all security software on servers and PCs
- Run a full back up and make sure a copy is offsite
- Test that your backups work (i.e. run a trial restore to make sure everything comes back)
- Ensure all on-going services are all paid for and will not expire over the holidays
This last suggestion can avoid a problem that catches out too many people. If your DNS records expire over the holiday period (or your software subscriptions, internet connections, service contracts etc.) it can be a hard task to find the right details and the right contacts to get it sorted out from an empty office.
You certainly don't want to spend your holidays worrying about your IT systems back in the office, or your skeleton crew not being able to provide services to your clients, while you should be relaxing and recuperating.
So, get it set up, forward your phones to the after-hours service and have a great break whenever and wherever you can get away. Stay safe on the roads and in the water and we will look forward to doing business with you next year.