While modern business technological innovations like artificial intelligence, augmented reality and the Internet of Things all rely heavily on software to perform their assigned tasks, there is still a vital hardware component that allows the programming to function. Designing and building logic chips, circuit boards and peripheral connections requires the skills of a computer hardware ...
The reassignment of existing equipment takes place when employees leave the organization or receive new computers, mobile devices, printers and other assets. It is essential to follow strict guidelines for equipment reassignment so that company investments, data and privacy are protected. The following checklist, written by Scott Matteson for TechRepublic Premium, will help ensure that ...
While the use of cloud-based systems for business enterprises continues to increase, not all IT infrastructure and systems can be based in the cloud. Mainframe systems programmers are still needed to run and maintain legacy on-premises servers and systems in many businesses and industries where cloud services cannot be effectively deployed. This hiring kit, written ...
Onboarding and offboarding employees requires careful attention. Otherwise, team members may receive insufficient permissions to perform their jobs or continue to have access long after their employment’s termination. Given the stakes, the problem is even worse when managing IT staff permissions, so it’s imperative that your company adopts a system to ensure consistency. Employees, contractors ...
Every department, regardless of size, needs to employ and account for depreciation — particularly if that department manages assets such as laptops, servers and production machinery. How else are you going to know when it’s time to purchase new equipment? With the help of this worksheet from TechRepublic Premium, you’ll be able to calculate standard ...
Appropriate asset controls are important in order to safeguard the business while providing employees the use of assets needed to do their jobs. These controls ensure assets are managed and tracked in a routine fashion to reduce risk and unnecessary costs to the business. The purpose of this policy, written by Scott Matteson for TechRepublic ...
The bring-your-own-device movement has helped businesses save money on technology spending by allowing employees to use their own mobile devices, tablets or other electronics to conduct company operations. The purpose of this Bring Your Own Device Policy, written by Scott Matteson for TechRepublic Premium, is to provide requirements for BYOD usage and establish the steps ...
No managed services provider should lock itself out of the very network switches or routers it deploys, yet such accidents occur. Network switches have become increasingly complex and sometimes route virtual local area network traffic, while routers power an ever-expanding smorgasbord of filters and services. As a result, it’s easier than ever to skip an ...
Regardless of the process, there are several elements to track when replacing an existing computer with a new system. Whether your organization begins by imaging drives or manually configures new systems, many questions must be addressed. Everyone from technology consultants to internal IT staff should build a checklist within their ticketing systems to ensure important ...
The bread and butter task — server deployments — most managed services providers perform is, unfortunately, also among the most dangerous to client relationships. Deploying new servers and replacing old production servers are especially sensitive responsibilities that technology consultancies commonly complete. Yet, server projects present numerous dangers, as clients’ production environments are dependent upon proper ...
To achieve the maximum benefit from IT assets, organizations should ensure the longest possible lifespan for assigned equipment through proper usage support, maintenance and reassignment. These guidelines, written by Scott Matteson for TechRepublic Premium, are founded upon two principles: Asset tracking/management and data management. Featured text from the policy: DATA MANAGEMENT Data often has a ...
Having a comprehensive IT hardware procurement policy will benefit your organization by streamlining purchasing, implementing checks and balances, establishing standards to optimize your business model and system lifecycle, and reducing fraud. This policy, written by Scott Matteson for TechRepublic Premium, establishes a framework for the purchase of company hardware. Featured text from the policy: ESTABLISH ...
For managed services providers, deploying new PCs and performing desktop and laptop migrations are common but perilous tasks. The adage “you’re only as good as your last performance” certainly applies. An MSP and its technicians can get everything right, complete a client’s complex cloud migrations, and perform remote work initiatives and proprietary business application upgrades, ...
The policy’s purpose is to define for employees and authorized representatives the technology-related purchases eligible for reimbursement. TechRepublic Premium’s policy also seeks to ensure all expenses are properly reported, processed and reimbursed. This policy can be customized as needed to fit your organization’s requirements. From the policy: Technology purchases should only be completed after first ...
Properly deploying new servers for clients requires managed services providers to carefully plan and execute such initiatives. Keeping those servers running properly is an even bigger challenge. MSPs need to adopt methodic maintenance practices to help spot issues early and prevent problems from resulting in unplanned downtime and lost data. Servers present so many fronts ...