This is an ideal time to assess your IT needs for the coming year as we all look toward 2021 in search of the stability we so rightly deserve. While 2020 has been something of a knee-jerk year, things appear to be calming down enough to take store and re-evaluate. This is particularly true when it comes to IT and what we need to do for business. Going forward, we can be sure of a couple of things. Namely:

A hybrid situation of both office and remote work environments will continue.

Some staff members are more productive while working from home. The savings to the cost of housing employees in a brick and mortar office has all businesses looking at ways to maintain some of the elements that the hybrid situation has brought. For example, continuing to have employees work remotely or to come in for meetings just on certain days. Even once a vaccine is available, the benefits of a hybrid workplace will not be dismissed. Therefore, as it relates to IT, business will require support for both office and in-home work environments.

Cyberattacks will continue to rise and become even more devious thereby demanding increased means of cybersecurity.

Data breaches, phishing schemes, malware, ransomware, among so many other types of cybercrime now occur. It appears the cybercriminals never rest. According to a study by the University of Maryland, “[There is a] near-constant rate of hacker attacks of computers with Internet access—every 39 seconds on average …The computers in that study were attacked, on average, 2,244 times a day.” Cybersecurity mandates constant IT monitoring to intercede these attacks and keep your systems safe.

Substantial growth has occurred within IT to respond to the technological needs for business continuity.

Suddenly there has been a tremendous need for teleconferencing, moving to the cloud, and subsequent increases in bandwidth requirements. While applications such as Zoom, among others, stepped up to the plate, it is time to re-evaluate these tools moving forward. Security issues such as being “Zoom-bombed” have come to light and other technologies have become available which have proven themselves to be dramatically improved.

Better paradigms and advances are available that make IT and IT support both more accessible and more affordable.

Specifically, the ability to outsource to a managed IT services provider. First, a managed service provider can help you assess your IT needs moving forward as well as the planning, implementation and support required. They also provide 24/7/365 monitoring for the protection of your systems. Their services at a predictable, affordable, scalable, monthly service fee. This paradigm will enable you to both reduce and optimize your IT expenses. 7 Tips to Reduce IT Costs Quickly.

Contact our team of IT experts and cybersecurity specialists at Concensus. Your success, business continuity and cybersecurity are our constant focus. We are here to be your frontline of defense, support, and trusted resource as we all move ahead towards the future.