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  • #2139094

    when should small businesses upgrade their IT?

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    by robertsclyde ·

    I have been asked to give a lecture on a case for business to upgrade their IT. I only have an hour to get the point accross and answer questions. I want to cover internal and internet security, network infrastructure protection, firewalls, disaster recovery, data storage (on premise and in the cloud), desktop standardization, and productivity. Is there a white paper or a case study that I can use? an hour is not much time and I want to be as up to date as I can.

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    • #2884360

      Clarifications

      by robertsclyde ·

      In reply to when should small businesses upgrade their IT?

      Clarifications

      • #2884346

        Request for Clarification

        by robertsclyde ·

        In reply to Clarifications

        So older equipment that doesn’t measure up security wise is a non-issue? For example, Wi-Fi that only has WEP or no encryption at all, is nothing to worry about? Or a laptop that has an internal wireless that doesn’t support anything other than WEP a non-issue? IT also includes software does it not? I asked for a case study or a white paper. Your answer may fit with bean counters but I hope you are not trying to tell me that older hardware and software are not a security or productivity issue. I know what the issues are. I was looking for some recent white papers or case studies.

    • #2884356

      RE:- when should small businesses upgrade their IT?

      by oh smeg ·

      In reply to when should small businesses upgrade their IT?

      The only time that any business needs to upgrade plant is when they reach the stage in the Tax Cycle where the assists that they own are no longer producing a decent Tax Deduction for them.

      Doesn’t matter if the existing plant does the job it’s there for if it’s no longer worth while having in place and saving the company money at Tax Time then it’s costing the company money having in place.

      The rest of the question has nothing to do with Upgrading Hardware but more to do with Security and that depends on the company and what it does so each solution needs to be tailored for that company and there is no One Size Fits all that covers everything.

      Upgrading is more to do with Accounting than anything else and should be covered in an Accounting Lecture not a Security lecture. 😉

      Col

    • #2884329

      Tax accounting should not be a reason

      by mperata ·

      In reply to when should small businesses upgrade their IT?

      Most small businesses take advantage of Section 179 of IRC which allows a current depreciation deduction for (nearly) all assets in the current year. [talk to your accountant for rules and limitations and be very careful about recapture issues!]

      These would be my requirements:
      1. Is your network and data secure
      2. Will new software increase productivity and will the new software run on my system
      3. Are my employees complaining about slowness and will a desktop or network upgrade fix the issue
      4. Are you constantly fixing hardware problems with replacement parts – buy new equipment.
      4. Have you developed internal procedures that limit users to outside influences (net surfing/Facebook/…)
      5. If you do upgrade you network/desktop/software, will your IT people require training

      • #2884326

        Reponse To Answer

        by robertsclyde ·

        In reply to Tax accounting should not be a reason

        mperta Thanks I have the talking points and my powerpoint all but done. They do include those things you said and more. I have heard these talking points in webinars and seminars for some time now. My request was for a new case study or white paper on the subject to use the latest stats to cooborate my presentation with input from experts. Thank you and COL for your help and input. 🙂

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