#1: Insufficient technical support
The first technology mistake common to numerous small businesses is insufficient technical support. Many organizations simply go without, relying instead upon an employee whose love of Warcraft may make him or her the local office “computer guru.” Other organizations may depend upon a staffer’s friend or relative (who’s “interested in computers”) to provide technology advice or assistance when critical systems fail or slow unacceptably. Some turn to their hardware manufacturer’s telephone support line for help, only to be disappointed when the solution to many problems proves to be performing a reinstallation (thereby resulting in the loss of all the business owner’s data). Yet others rely upon a big box electronic store’s service arm, never receiving the same (novice, often undereducated and inexperienced) technician twice. Still others sometimes locate a student or other individual who provides computer support “on the side.” These support methods are not cost-efficient.
#2: Hardware/software issues
Smart organizations set PC service lives at three or four years. There’s a reason. “When you look at costs—particularly around a four- to six-year lifecycle—it may seem like you are saving money,” says Info-Tech Research Group analyst Darin Stahl, “but really it’s costing you,” because support expenses increase. Retaining PCs longer than three or four years often results in repair and support costs that meet or exceed the price of new systems.
This is the second common tech mistake businesses make; they fail to standardize hardware components and software applications, where possible. The result is a mish mash of components that complicate troubleshooting, repair and deployment and the need to support a variety of programs possessing different license terms and renewal dates. Incompatibilities often result. Worse, older and obsolete hardware is less efficient, increases downtime likelihood, feeds staff and customer frustration, endangers sales and threatens other lost opportunities.
#3: Insufficient power protection
A single power outage, surge or spike can damage expensive electronic components and result in critical data loss. Consistent surges and brownouts, meanwhile, shorten the lifespan of computers, printers, network components and other equipment. Many businesses deploy simple power strips. Others continue depending upon surge suppressors deployed five and even 10 years earlier. When thunderstorms, electrical outages and other disasters strike, the damaged systems and corrupted or lost data—not to mention downtime-resulting from insufficient power protection prove costly.
#4: Illegal software
Possessing illegal software may be the easiest trap into which many organizations fall. The issue is certainly widespread (the Business Software Alliance estimates 22 percent of all North American software is unlicensed), making it our fourth common tech mistake plaguing small businesses. Certainly, licensing issues quickly prove perplexing. The differences between OEM, retail and open license software escapes the understanding of many business owners. Yet, manufacturers are becoming more aggressive in locking down licenses and prosecuting offenders (often via the BSA, which has collected more than $81 million in settlements). Many organizations don’t recognize they do not “own” software (instead programs and applications are commonly licensed). Worse, some firms use “borrowed” applications or pirated programs. Problems arise either in the form of audits and penalties or challenging delays (due to product activation conflicts and other licensing issues) when returning failed systems to operation.
#5: Insufficient training
Mention software training in most any conference room, and you’re likely to hear groans. Boredom, bad classroom experiences or simple lack of interest all likely contribute to employees’ resistance to learning new applications, not to mention complexity. But that doesn’t change the fact that insufficient training ranks as the fifth common tech mistake impacting small businesses. It’s estimated that office staff understand less than 20% of the available features in the software applications they use. That means 80% of the features, time-saving capabilities and cost-reducing functions remain unused. Gross inefficiencies result. As a consequence, many processes—including repetitive data entry, complicated calculations and automated data selection and reporting—are completed manually, which introduces a greater likelihood of errors entering the process. Tasks that could be completed in moments often consume exponentially more time. Considering that many of those tasks are repeated each business day by multiple workers, and it’s easy to see how the costs quickly become significant.
#6: Security failures
In addition to training, small businesses also frequently fail to adequately accommodate security issues. Organizations either don’t recognize the risks or fail to take them seriously, thereby making security failures the sixth most-common tech mistake. The costs are staggering. Large US organizations lose some 2.2% of their annual income due to security attacks, according to an Infonetics Research’s Costs of Network Security Attacks report. That’s expensive. The FBI estimates such computer crime costs US industry in excess of $400 billion.
Organizations need not possess a high profile to become a target, either. Hackers have created innumerable automated programs that scour the Internet 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, seeking poorly secured systems, servers, PCs and networks to infect and exploit. Unfortunately, businesses everywhere are falling victim to compromised systems, robotic attacks, identity and data theft and more. Organizations that fail to properly secure client and customer data often find themselves in the middle of security crises that result in bad press, lost sales and forfeited customer trust.
#7: Poor backup strategies
The seventh common small business technology mistake often proves irrecoverable. Despite numerous choices, methods and options, many organizations fail to adequately back up data. Statistics reveal there is a 50% chance an organization will cease operations immediately when critical data is lost. Worse, an organization’s odds of failure rocket to 90% within two years when critical data is lost. Data losses cost an average of 19 days’ productivity. Recovering data from damaged disks, meanwhile is incredibly expensive. Even organizations that believe their data is properly protected may find themselves at risk. Occasionally incorrect data (as in the wrong data) is backed up. In other cases, tape backups prove unreliable. Fortunately, small businesses can follow simple steps to securely protect their data.
#8: Virus exposure
Viruses not only remain a major threat, but their dangers are increasing. The BBC reports that unprotected PCs become infected within eight seconds—eight seconds!—of being connected to the Internet. That makes virus exposure the eighth common small business tech misstep. Infections are proving expensive, too. In the book The Dark Side Of The Internet, author Paul Bocij estimates the average virus incident costs organizations $2,500 in remediation and data recovery expenses. A report by ICSA Labs places businesses’ costs even higher (at $99,000 per incident). And, as mentioned earlier, the problem’s only getting worse. The numbers, varieties and types of threats only increase. Malware programs are evolving at such a clip that many security software vendors have eliminated daily updates in favor of distributing patches every four hours. Often, businesses and users simply fail to implement protection. One survey (conducted by the National Cyber Security Alliance) revealed that 67% of the respondents did not possess current (up to date) antivirus software. Worse, some 15 percent had no antivirus application installed.
#9: Spyware exposure
Before we address virus solutions, let’s visit spyware, which is equally, and potentially even more daunting, a threat. Therefore, spyware exposure ranks as the ninth common small business technology oversight. While spyware differs from viruses in their nature (spyware typically aims to track user behavior, collect user information or sensitive data and display unwanted advertisements, whereas viruses often destroy data, corrupt systems or enable hackers to remotely control a system), spyware’s business impact has reached epidemic levels. The respected trade group CompTIA estimates spyware infections require two-and-a-half days to resolve and cost small and medium-sized businesses $8,000 a year, which doesn’t factor lost revenue. As evidence businesses aren’t doing enough to protect themselves from the threat, CompTIA pointed to the information its research recently uncovered. More than a quarter of business users reported their productivity suffered as the result of a recent spyware infection, and more than a third reported being infected multiple times within the last six months, with some reporting being infected as many as 10 times!
#10: Unsolicited e-mail
The 10th technology mistake afflicting small businesses is one with which most every business and user is familiar: unsolicited e-mail, also known as spam. Spam messages have become a serious issue, particularly for small businesses that often misunderstand the problem and fail to take effective countermeasures. The Radicatti Research Group estimates spam costs businesses more than $20 billion a year. Further, almost half of all e-mail is estimated to be spam. Thus, small businesses are investing valuable time, money and system resources processing, delivering and even storing these unsolicited e-mail messages. In addition to lowering productivity (staff must regularly sift through hundreds or more junk mail messages, deleting the spam, in search of legitimate e-mail), spam takes a toll on an organization’s servers and workstations, which often must dedicate processor cycles, disk space and backup media to untold gigabytes of unwanted mail.