The 9 Most Common IT Problems You Should Prepare For

The global digital population has ballooned to 4.1 billion in the last decade. This increased presence of consumers on the internet has led to increased opportunity for companies to engage customers that formally were outside of their market due to geographic limitations.

In order for small to medium-sized businesses to keep up with that opportunity, more companies are adopting sophisticated tech-based workflows that allow them to improve their internal communications, external presence, and the quality of the products and services they offer to consumers.

The only problem is that with increased sophistication, comes increased problems.

From network issues to slowdowns, as your team and their reliance on technology grows, inevitably, so do headaches.

Below, our team outlines some of the most common IT problems businesses like yours face as they grow and give you insight on how to cope.

1. Lost Data

Since the dawn of the digital era, IT professionals have touted the importance of having a solid data management solution in place. Given that businesses were relying on a lot of hard copy documents early-on though, the cry for these measures often fell on deaf ears.

The way we create and store data within the corporate landscape has changed significantly in the last decade, however.

Today, even on the small business level, we’re relying on technology to house critical data on customers, trade secrets, and similarly important things. An organization’s ability to take care of that data is integral to their continued success and safety.

To avoid an employee irrevocably deleting something important, consider housing important files on a central server that employees access through your company’s network. This workflow contrasts the much less secure workflow of having employees store and access important documents on their local machines.

From a central server, your IT team can set permissions that disable the deletion or editing of certain, critical files.

Furthermore, your server should be mirrored locally or in the cloud to avoid losses due to server failure.

2. Cyber Attacks

Cyber attacks can cost companies like yours in the vicinity of 3.9 million dollars. They happen all too often and frequently to companies that assume they’re too small to be targeted.

Don’t let your guard down.

Keep software up to date, be responsible with passwords, and work with an IT team to ensure that your network is secure.

3. Out of Date Software

We get that it can be annoying to update your software. After all, you don’t want to wait around all day during updates that can sometimes take hours.

The issue is, though, if you don’t keep your software up to date, you become more susceptible to cyber attacks.

To make sure that employees use best practices when it comes to keeping their systems current, work with your IT team to roll out mandated software updates on a pre-determined timetable.

4. Internet Speed Hiccups

One second your business internet is flying and the next it’s not. What could be the problem?

You could have a router issue, it could be that somebody is transferring large data packets over your network… The list is virtually endless.

We recommend moving large files to and from your server before work hours or at the end of the day to prevent slowdowns during crunch time. Beyond that, you’ll need your IT team to work to pinpoint slowdown sources.

5. Sudden Computer Slowdowns

Again, the cause of a particular system slowing down can be attributed to a lot of things. The most dangerous cause could be malware that may infect your network.

If a particular machine is acting out of character, have a professional scan it immediately.

6. Trouble Accessing Share Drives

Anybody who has spent more than a week in an office setting has heard somebody at some point lamenting on how they can’t access any shared folders.

This could be the result of an incorrectly mapped drive, permissions, or network connectivity issues.

Try remapping the shared drive. Also, see if other computers are able to access and interact with files to ensure the issue is isolated to a single machine.

If it is and drives are mapped correctly, it could be a permission or firewall issue.

7. Inability to Operate Network Printers

Not being able to print to a network printer is an issue that’s similar to not being able to access share drives.

Run through the same troubleshooting steps as we laid out in the previous point and if unsuccessful, have your IT services team investigate.

8. USB-related Issues

It seems like the technical world runs on USB devices which is why USB is at the root of a lot of common IT problems.

USB mice, keyboards, thumb drives, networking devices, etc.

If you’re finding that USB devices aren’t working on a particular machine, try plugging the devices into another port and/or computer to ensure the problem lies with the device and not the machine or port itself.

If the device is faulty across multiple machines, replace it. If the issue lies with the port, you’ll need to have it serviced.

If a working USB device isn’t working on a particular system that’s reading all other USB devices fine, it’s a driver issue that your IT team can work through.

9. Lack of Cohesive Strategies

This final common IT problems point is a macro issue we see with a lot of small to medium-sized companies.

When problems occur they get patched up on a DIY, piecemeal basis.

Piecemeal fixes are not scalable and if you’re relying on non-scalable IT solutions, your company’s growth will get hampered.

That’s why it’s important that you work with an excellent group of IT professionals to have contingency plans and processes in place to deal with problems consistently.

Wrapping Up Common IT Problems You Should Prepare For

There you have it! 9 common IT problems your business should get prepared to deal with quickly and consistently so they don’t slow you down or put your organization at risk.

Wondering how to get ahead of IT problems and deal with them when they crop up day in and day out?

We can help.

Our team at Linc Project provides low-cost, world-class managed IT services that can help your company better leverage today’s tech to achieve tomorrow’s goals.

Contact us today for specific information on the value we can bring to you!