We know IT professionals at small businesses wear many hats, so selecting a remote monitoring and endpoint management solution that is secure, powerful and intuitive is crucial for success. However, finding the right provider can feel daunting with a wide pool of software solutions in market. Use the following top five tips as a starting point to ensure you’re selecting a solution that delivers immediate value and protects your business from cyber threats.
TIP #1.
Only Pay for What You Need– Choose a solution that gives you the freedom and flexibility to only pay for what you need. Solutions built with flexibility allow small businesses to stay within budget while also ensuring that you’re fully in control and able to get the exact functionality you need.
TIP #2.
Get Up and Running Within Hours, Not Weeks- Some remote monitoring and endpoint management tools are incredibly complex, and IT professionals quite simply don’t have weeks or even days to waste on just getting up to speed. Look for an easy-to-use solution that you can roll out fast. This will help you get immediate value out of the product and ensure that you have time back in your day to focus on critical projects.
TIP #3.
Patch Your Systems– Cyber-attacks on small businesses are on the rise, but 90% in the last year could have been avoided by updating and patching systems. In addition, of companies that were breached, 60 percent experienced a successful attack for which a patch had been available for over a decade! These staggering statistics make the importance of patch management impossible to ignore. Be sure to select a solution that delivers both Windows and third-party application updates to keep your small business protected.
TIP #4.
Automate Manual Tasks– For time-strapped IT professionals, choosing a solution that allows you to automate manual tasks so you can save time, money and optimize your resources is a game changer. Look for automated task management and advanced scripting functionality so you can take back your time and be an IT hero.
TIP #5.
Report on What Matters Most- Choose a solution that allows you to view and report on the high-level metrics most important to your business. Pulling data and creating reports can be time consuming, so having key metric data such as Windows updates, threat detection, operating system and free disk space just a few clicks away can be a life-saver. Reporting can help you take a proactive approach to managing your IT infrastructure and ensure your business is secure and protected.
