1. Unspent IT Budget
The financial year is almost over and you may still have some IT budget money unspent. This money is usually set aside to make sure your team is most productive or your IT environment is ship shape. Don’t lose those funds (especially if you have a use-it or lose-it policy) if you can sensibly spend it to set you up for the new year.

It is also a great time to take advantage of the Government’s instant asset write-off scheme.

2. Next Year’s Projects
You probably set your next budget a few months ago. Take the time to review this budget and put in place the steps to deliver on any planned projects. Often these projects can get forgotten until the last-minute. This leads to poor planning, delays in implementation and not achieving the benefits for your business you were looking for.

Its also a good time to brainstorm any new ideas of how IT can get you closer to your customers, ahead of your competition and make your people more productive.

3. Check your Back Ups
The EOFY means you are closing your books, sending clients and suppliers statements etc. Now is the perfect time to make sure you have back ups in place and that they are ‘accessible’ and ‘readable’. Ideally backups should follow the 3-2-1 policy.

• 3 Backups
• 2 Different media
• 1 Off site (preferably on the cloud)

4. Data Security – get a security assessment to identify risks
The are so many things you should and should not do for data security that it can be over-whelming. Getting a security assessment every 6 months will help you identify risks in your policy settings, compliance and IT environment.

Thankfully in our experience most of the identified issues are solved relatively easily and quickly. Please call us to book a security risk assessment.

5. Training – Data Security
In business, most of the attacks on data are successful due to human error. It is critical to make sure that you and your team are well trained to promptly spot the attempts of malicious actors to get to your information.

Tip: Don’t forget that you are likely legally responsible to advise of any Notifiable Data Breaches  don’t let this become a major risk to your brand and reputation.

6. Hardware Review – End of Life Hardware
The performance of your hardware has a significant impact on your team’s productivity and quality of experience for your customers. As hardware ages – e.g. PCs, Laptops, Servers – it becomes less reliable and their resources may no longer be enough for your business applications to work as quickly or reliably as you would like. The trick to managing hardware is to spread replacements over different years. Alternatively leasing or financing can be used, so you can update your hardware without changing your cost structure or having big investment hits on your cash.

End of Life Hardware: in January year several Microsoft products will reach End of Life, meaning hardware will likely need to be upgraded before the end of 2018. Hardware to look out for

• Windows 7 PCs or Laptops
• Servers running Microsoft Server 2008

As you consider your options for upgrading the hardware you may consider moving to the cloud. Ask Chill IT which of the many options would be suitable for your company.

7. Review Your Website
When did you last update your website?
Have you added the latest security features? Or integrated apps to make it easier to communicate, sell to and transact with clients?

8. Move to the Cloud – Improve Collaboration
The Microsoft suite of products under Office365 or Microsoft365 enables your team to collaborate more effectively. This includes documents and presentations as well overall internal communication. Help your team move out of their Silos to share their successes and break down those inter-departmental walls.

Contact Chill IT on 1300 796 246 or email us on sales@chillit.com.au for an IT assessment.