Around 4.6 million Americans work in IT departments and this is hardly surprising. Developments in technology mean that it is now an integral part of almost every industry across America.
However, if you are going to make the most of your IT department it needs to run efficiently. In that case, it’s important that you know how to manage IT services in your business.
Well, you’ve come to the right place. Read on to find out our simple-to-use IT checklist.
Security Checklist for Your IT Department
Every year in the US there are more than 1,000 data security breaches that put millions of Americans’ personal records at risk. This is why your security checklist is so important. This includes:
- Documenting all security procedures properly
- Testing out any software that handles sensitive information
- Checking for any holes in your firewalls and prevention systems
- Storing sensitive data separately
- Only using secure wireless networks
- Scanning regularly for unauthorized access points
- Ensuring anyone who does have access control has proper credentials
Staying up-to-date on these procedures will ensure that your company’s IT department is secure at all times. You can get help monitoring these areas from managed data services.
Regulatory Compliance Checklist
Depending on where you do your business, your IT department will need to meet the requirements of certain regulations. This includes:
- The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) for companies dealing with Europe
- The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA)
- The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009 (HITECH)
- The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX)
- The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS)
When updating or creating a new office setup, it is important to make sure that you are operating in line with these regulations.
Data Backup Checklist
Your company’s success usually relies on a large amount of data. Knowing how to handle, store, and protect this data is extremely important. This is why you need to have a plan in place for backing up all of your company data.
This includes:
- Testing your data backup method
- Checking how long a full data restoration would take
- Calculating the cost of financial downtime if you were to lose data
- Keep a copy of your data offsite
- Investing in data recovery methods (such as LifeGuard Data Recovery)
Whether you have a data breach or suffer a hardware malfunction, this checklist will ensure that you don’t lose any valuable data along the way.
Hardware Inventory
Your hardware can have a big impact on the efficiency of your IT department. Some equipment can also cost a lot to run or replace, so keeping an inventory of them is a good idea. This should include:
- The make and model of each piece of hardware
- Its age
- Any repairs it has required
- The overall performance of the hardware (and any issues reported)
For added security, you might also want to make a note of who has access to certain hardware.
Get Help With IT Audits Today
As you can see, when it comes to managing your IT department organization is key. Keep this checklist for how to manage IT services in mind and you can’t go wrong.
For more great business tips and advice, keep scrolling now!
Around 4.6 million Americans work in IT departments and this is hardly surprising. Developments in technology mean that it is now an integral part of almost every industry across America.
However, if you are going to make the most of your IT department it needs to run efficiently. In that case, it’s important that you know how to manage IT services in your business.
Well, you’ve come to the right place. Read on to find out our simple-to-use IT checklist.
Security Checklist for Your IT Department
Every year in the US there are more than 1,000 data security breaches that put millions of Americans’ personal records at risk. This is why your security checklist is so important. This includes:
- Documenting all security procedures properly
- Testing out any software that handles sensitive information
- Checking for any holes in your firewalls and prevention systems
- Storing sensitive data separately
- Only using secure wireless networks
- Scanning regularly for unauthorized access points
- Ensuring anyone who does have access control has proper credentials
Staying up-to-date on these procedures will ensure that your company’s IT department is secure at all times. You can get help monitoring these areas from managed data services.
Regulatory Compliance Checklist
Depending on where you do your business, your IT department will need to meet the requirements of certain regulations. This includes:
- The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) for companies dealing with Europe
- The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA)
- The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009 (HITECH)
- The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX)
- The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS)
When updating or creating a new office setup, it is important to make sure that you are operating in line with these regulations.
Data Backup Checklist
Your company’s success usually relies on a large amount of data. Knowing how to handle, store, and protect this data is extremely important. This is why you need to have a plan in place for backing up all of your company data.
This includes:
- Testing your data backup method
- Checking how long a full data restoration would take
- Calculating the cost of financial downtime if you were to lose data
- Keep a copy of your data offsite
- Investing in data recovery methods (such as LifeGuard Data Recovery)
Whether you have a data breach or suffer a hardware malfunction, this checklist will ensure that you don’t lose any valuable data along the way.
Hardware Inventory
Your hardware can have a big impact on the efficiency of your IT department. Some equipment can also cost a lot to run or replace, so keeping an inventory of them is a good idea. This should include:
- The make and model of each piece of hardware
- Its age
- Any repairs it has required
- The overall performance of the hardware (and any issues reported)
For added security, you might also want to make a note of who has access to certain hardware.
Get Help With IT Audits Today
As you can see, when it comes to managing your IT department organization is key. Keep this checklist for how to manage IT services in mind and you can’t go wrong.
For more great business tips and advice, keep scrolling now!
