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We could spend days listing all of the things you must do before and after opening a business in today’s digitized world. This is especially true during the launch phase.

For example, you must determine how your team will collaborate and what tools you need to simplify communication. You must put policies in place for everything from security incident response to running meetings. You must also develop a process for securing your digital information before you’re “go” for launch.

And this is only scratching the surface. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, take a deep breath. You can do this. But to ensure a successful start, you need to do some prep work. We can help.

Here at TechRepublic, many of our experts have been in your shoes. We’ve compiled what we’ve learned into the following six TechRepublic resources. Go ahead and lean on them for the more tedious work so you can keep your focus on the ultimate goal—opening your doors.

Limited time offer on TechRepublic Premium subscriptions: Get a 30% discount off an annual subscription to TechRepublic Premium by using the code bf22-30. This great deal ends on Dec. 7, 2022, so act now, and start getting access to hundreds of ready-made IT and management policies, hiring kits, checklists and more.

Comparison guide: Top enterprise collaboration tools

If the past 18+ months have taught us anything, it’s that all businesses must prioritize both remote and in-office collaboration. As you start your new business, a great way to be prepared for anything is to implement an enterprise collaboration tool.

These tools include a wide range of features, including voice services, screen sharing, mobile apps, and third-party integrations. But before you choose an enterprise collaboration tool for your business, it’s best to compare and contrast your options.

In this comparison guide, we dive into industry frontrunners such as Microsoft Teams and Slack to help you evaluate the pros and cons of each. That way, you can make the best choice for your business.


Checklist: Securing digital information

Digital information is the lifeblood of every business. Everything from customer information to employee data is critical to how you run your business, particularly in the first few years. Unfortunately, data breaches pose a serious threat, especially as technology advances.

According to IBM, the average cost of a data breach in 2021 was $4.24 million. Yes, $4.24 million. To mitigate the risk of a breach, you must determine how you’ll secure your digital information as it’s created, shared and stored.

In this TechRepublic Premium checklist, we provide an in-depth strategy you can use to protect your critical information. We’ll walk you through how to properly categorize information, steps to take to secure your data, and which security products or solutions to consider.


IT email templates: Security alerts

One of the best tips we can give you for preparing to launch is creating email templates ahead of time for sharing critical business information. This is especially important for your IT team, which may need to share security alerts when time is of the essence.

A formal set of templates will help you deliver both event-based and proactive security communications to ensure everyone on your team understands new developments and critical company policies.

In this set of IT templates, you’ll find sample emails regarding ID badges and visitors, phishing emails, zip file dangers and password pointers. Plus, the emails contain relevant screenshots where required. Simply copy, paste, edit and save for later.


Daily standup meeting policy

When you’re in startup mode, things can change quickly. Implementing daily standup meetings is a great way to keep your new team up to date on launch goals, ongoing business activities and team responsibilities.

However, simply scheduling a daily meeting isn’t enough. Structure is required to make the meeting productive for all who attend. This sample daily standup meeting policy is a great place to start and can be customized to fit the needs of your business.

It explains the daily standup meeting requirements as well as any applicable violations and penalties.


Electronic communication policy

Electronic communication is commonplace within any business and includes everything from emails to social media posts and beyond. It’s critical that you have a policy in place to ensure that these communication resources are used for appropriate purposes only.

Your electronic communication policy should cover privacy, confidentiality and security, as well as compliance requirements, storage and disposal of communications and applicable devices, and guidelines for appropriate use.

This sample electronic communication policy includes all of the above and can be fully customized to fit your unique business needs.


Security response policy

As technology continues to advance by the minute, so do the chances of experiencing a data breach or cybersecurity incident. In fact, we’re seeing a drastic increase in security incidents across the globe.

According to ITRC’s 2021 Q3 Data Breach Analysis, the number of security events up to October of 2021 completely surpassed the number of events from the previous year. And even now, numbers continue to trend upward.

One of the most critical steps you can take to prepare your new business for any threat is to put a security incident response policy in place. This sample policy will help you communicate your process for minimizing and mitigating an IT security-related incident. As a result, your team will know exactly what to do the second a threat is discovered.

Limited time offer on TechRepublic Premium subscriptions: Get a 30% discount off an annual subscription to TechRepublic Premium by using the code bf22-30. This great deal ends on Dec. 7, 2022, so act now, and start getting access to hundreds of ready-made IT and management policies, hiring kits, checklists and more.

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