Computer technology is essential to small business. How many times have you called a business to be told "their computers are down." Stopping work when computers are down costs your business time, money and customers.

Technology can fail for any reason. So it’s important to have a backup business system. At the very least having a simple notepad so you can jot down customer details should the system, or the power, is off could save you customers and orders. Staff should be trained on how to deal with situations when the computers, cash registers or EFTPOS is down.

Computer crashes

The most important thing to remember with computer crashes is don’t panic. When you panic is when you lose data. Check that there is a problem and, if there is, call somebody equipped to deal with it.

The priority for any computer technician is to get you up and running quickly. If you have modern, up-to-date equipment this makes it easier. If you have an established relationship with a support company, and a recovery plan, then things are made easier for everyone.

Data loss

Remember that data is the most essential part of your system. If your computer vanishes in a puff of smoke tomorrow, we can replace it in minutes. Most software can be bought off the shelf of the local computer shop. But data lost is data gone.

A lot of businesses don’t seem to realise the investment they have made in their computer data. Your databases, marketing material, customer records, procedure manuals and financial records are you business. Many business would cease to exist if they lost their data.

When a computer crashes, the main thing is to get the data back. You must have a reliable backup of your data. We’ve covered backup technologies previously.

It’s also essential to make sure your backup is working. Nothing is more demoralising that to spend several thousand dollars on a backup system, faithfully backup every day and find when you need it that it hasn’t been working. This usually involves understanding your backup software and this is a very good thing.

Disasters don’t just happen to computers. Your office may be robbed, have a fire, a flood or even collapse. That’s why keeping your backups away from your business is important. Again, we can get your business up and running quickly if we have access to the data.

Software

While software is replaceable, it is expensive. It’s essential to have all your original disks, manuals, proof of purchase and licence details. This can save thousands on each computer.

Because we are so dependent on computers it’s important to be prepared for the worst. By being prepared you can change a major disaster into a minor inconvenience. Not spending a few dollars on backups is very much false economy.