5 Simple Ways to Protect Your Company's Technology Assets

No matter what type of business you run, technology is likely a large part of your company strategy and success. Therefore, it is imperative that you keep your company's technological assets, such as software, hardware, and even digital information secure. If you are unsure of how to protect these assets, here are 5 simple things you can do right now to protect your company.

Get a Good Insurance Policy

You can hope that the worst will not happen to your company and its assets, but do not be naive about needing protection. There are many things to consider when you purchase insurance, and each business values different aspects of an insurance policy differently. Take the time to research what type of policy is best for you, your employees, and your assets. At the least, get a policy that protects you from natural disasters that occur in your area and could potentially threaten any property you may have on site, such as servers, computers, and anything else that is expensive and troublesome to replace.

Hire an Attorney

No matter the size of your business, it is important that you have representation to handle any unforeseen issues that may come your way. Even if you don't hire someone full time (many companies do not), it is a good idea to have someone on retainer to help with things like copyright infringements, issues with employees, and other challenges. If a lawsuit comes your way, you'll want to be prepared with the best roundup lawsuit attorneys possible.

Upgrade Your Devices and Software

Even though this can be quite expensive, particularly if you are upgrading numerous employee laptops or computers, the dangers of not working with current software and hardware far outweigh what you'll spend keeping up to date. Oftentimes, security fixes and patches are added to new releases of software, so by not applying the updates, you may be putting your data at risk of a breach. Old, outdated software also simply slows down company productivity. Do you want your employees to waste their time fighting with a slow, old laptop, or would you rather them spend their time performing their jobs to the best of their ability?

Put Security Measures in Place

It may be common sense not to click on unknown links in sketchy emails or to visit strange websites on work computers, but it is important to also make rules like these official so that everyone is aware of what to avoid doing on company devices. Create some type of employee handbook or document that outlines appropriate behavior while using corporate assets and devices, and ensure that everyone receives a copy and understands the rules and repercussions if a rule is broken. All too often, employees inadvertently access something they shouldn't and risk bringing down entire networks. Be proactive instead of reactive and don't let something like this happen to you.

Have a Backup Plan

Whether you have backups of your crucial data in the cloud or you simply have a backup server in the office, having some type of strategy for data redundancy is a great way to ensure that you never completely lose your essential files. Whether your on-prem servers are hacked or one simply experiences a random failure, you will not have to worry about the safety of any of your data as long as you have it backed up somewhere. This also goes for any devices, such as laptops, tablets, and anything else that an employee might use. Have some backup devices available in case of a hardware failure that can be used (at least until new hardware can be procured) so that productivity doesn't come to a screeching halt if a device is damaged or malfunctions.

The costs and labor associated with protecting your company's assets are small compared to what you may spend to fix a security issue. Follow these easy steps and you'll be able to focus on building your empire.