Emergencies are expected, especially in the world of business. Supply issues may arise, employees come down with illnesses, and credit card processors can become jammed.
Sometimes even more serious than physical emergencies, however, are data and network problems. Small businesses are particularly vulnerable, as an estimated 27 percent of small businesses lack an IT department. The good news is that these IT emergencies can be handled if you know when to ask for help. IT emergency services can supplement the need for spare IT support on the turn of a dime.
Below are three situations where you shouldn’t hesitate to call emergency IT services. Doing so may save you time, money, customers and long-term profits.
1. Network Trouble
Networking issues are among the most threatening to small businesses. They can represent everything from simple downtime to major security threats that threaten to divulge the personal information of hundreds of thousands of customers.
This is why networking issues represent one of the most pressing IT matters. Businesses facing network downtime, server problems, or issues connecting with financial institutions should immediately contact emergency IT support.
For every minute of lost network connectivity, a business may lose several customers. This translates into considerable losses, especially when a business projects how much that customer may have made over a period of years. An emergency IT company can help secure your network, even remotely if needed.
2. Malicious Software
Malicious software represents another point where large data breaches may occur. It only takes one virus to infiltrate the chief financial officer’s computer to expose the details of countless customers to every ne’er-do-well on the Internet.
If a computer acts suspiciously, or a piece of software detects a virus, then it is best to contact emergency IT support. A few hours of downtime translates into a small amount of money when compared to the losses that a large breach of confidential information could impress.
3. Inaccessible Data
Another situation where emergency IT support should be called involves inaccessible data. This is the kind of data left on broken computers, failing hard drives and other devices that contain information that is as vital to a business as money.
If this data is lost, it could take hundreds of hours to recreate. In the case of a small business where there is more data per employee than in a large business, it could take years.
Emergency IT support can safely retrieve this data. They may be able to recover entire databases or fragments that will make recreating entire databases easier.
Emergency IT Saves Small Businesses
While businesses will find emergency IT support invaluable for making emergencies into less pressing matters, small businesses will find them invaluable. They keep costly mistakes from ruining businesses, which in turn allows them to prosper.
The best part is that emergency IT services can be almost as affordable as regular IT support Ottawa. This smaller cost pales in comparison to the cost of losing data or damage to IT infrastructure due to data breaches and loss.