IT Planning for Year-End and New Information for 2017

By now your 2017 budget is probably nearing completion. Before your budget is set in stone, we wanted to remind you to not neglect your organization’s spending.

In order to help you understand the areas you should focus your IT budget on, we have compiled a list of areas you should consider focusing your planning around. In 2016, security was a major focus at Yeo & Yeo Technology and, as you will read, we believe that security is going to be a focus for many years to come.

Security Upgrades: Staying current is vitally important. Hackers are always finding ways to exploit software and steal information. Making room in your budget for security upgrades is important. Many of the tools we use, like Microsoft Office, automatically receive upgrades and you need to be sure you are getting them. Even if you have IT staff in place, keeping track of every update, you may need to consider managed services. Keeping up with all of the patches that are released can be daunting and many small businesses are going to need assistance.

Ransomware: We have pushed out a lot of updates on Ransomware this year and for good reason – it continues to grow. We have some tips on prevention and what to do if you believe your system is infected.

Preventative Measures

• Do not follow unsolicited web links in email messages or submit any information to webpages in links.
• Use caution when opening email attachments.
• Keep operating systems and third-party software, including anti-virus, up-to-date with the latest patches.
• Perform regular backups of all systems/data to avoid serious consequences should your system fall under attack. Testing of your backup should be done monthly.

If you believe your system may be infected with the CryptoLocker Malware, follow these steps

• Immediately disconnect the infected system from the wireless or wired network. This may prevent the malware from further encrypting any more files on the network
• Change your passwords AFTER removing the malware from your system
• Users infected with the malware should consult with a reputable security expert to assist in removing the malware, or users can retrieve encrypted files by restoring from backup, restoring from a shadow copy or by performing a system restore

Microsoft: Outside of security Microsoft had another big year with the release of Office 2016 and Windows 10 Anniversary Update. Windows 10 has continued to grow in users and is currently operating on over 350 million devices. Office 365 has also continued to be a big success for Microsoft with over 70 million active users. Microsoft is continuously updating and adding new features to Office 365. YYTECH will continue to inform you about any major changes and updates Microsoft releases.

Updating Your PC: Every year it’s important to consider the state of your PC. Hardware and software are always getting better and both need to be considered when looking at your budget. Consider the following:

• Does your PC still have enough storage?
• How old is your PC?
• Is it running slow?
• Is your software up to date?

If you would like to learn more about planning your IT budget or YYTECH’s suite of services, contact us today!