All businesses have different needs when it comes to their computers, so answering this question isn’t always easy. You and your IT professional should have a plan 3-5 years out regarding new equipment. If you lease your machines you may find that by the end of the lease that they’re not running like they once were. You find yourself questioning if the buyout is the right solution or if you need replace them. Here are a few things to consider before investing in new technology.
1. Have Your IT Professional Optimize Them
Through saving and deleting and automatic backups, disk space becomes fragmented. Sometimes simply cleaning up the machine can free up disk space and make the machine work better. You may also find that the user has downloaded programs that don’t need to be there or saved music to the hard drive. Once your IT professional takes a look, they can often provide a solution.
2. Use a Quality Malware/Virus Protection Product
Many times, computers slow down because of malware. You may not see anything on the surface that points to malware being a problem, but it could be there. This is especially common if you don’t have good IT policies in place. Talk to your MSP or IT professional about the protection on your machines and look into upgrading it (hint, if you’re not paying for malware protection, you probably need something better).
3. Upgrade the Memory or Hard Drives
If the prospect of doing this yourself and you don’t have an IT staff, MSP or aren’t outsourcing your technology needs to a third party, call one. Technology outsourcing is a great solution to not only help with upgrading a machine but also protecting your IT infrastructure when your business isn’t big enough to need a full-time staff member. They will look at your current hardware and purchase additional memory or a new hard drive and either add to the machine or swap out the old technology.
Toucan Technology Group Can Help
If you need an IT professional for your office but hiring an additional staff member doesn’t make good fiscal sense, call us. We can provide you with either retainer or hourly based services for all your IT needs, from setting up new machines to upgrading your existing ones. If your network infrastructure needs improvements, we can help with that too. Plus, we offer some of the most secure and redundant backups of data so in the event something happens to your facility, your data is safe. Call us today at (317) 376-4874 or fill out our contact form for your free consultation.
