How to make sure your online business stays online- Servicing, backups and upgrades (Guest Post)

There’s one thing that can sabotage any online business- Overlooking the basics. Most online businesses are so busy that they tend to forget about just keeping the show on the road. Things like computer support are forgotten. Things suddenly crash, and the business is held up until they’re fixed. The frustration alone is expensive on the nerves. If that sounds like you, there are some ways to avoid these situations.

Staying online- The essentials

The basic needs of online businesses are so simple:

• Backups for data: This is absolutely essential for any business. Your ISP may provide backups, and your web host will have your site backed up. That’s not enough. Even web hosts can be compromised (see Security below) and you can lose everything. What about your financials, private stuff and other things on your computer? You need secure backups to make sure these things don’t get lost.
• Spare computers and peripherals: If you’re running your own business, you’ll know all too well what downtime really means. No keyboard, no scans, no monitor, whatever, you’re effectively stuck until you’ve got these things tidied up, and the time management goes out the window. Always make sure you’ve got spares for all your equipment.
• Good service people available when you need them: If you’ve got good service people around, they’re priceless. Really good service can turn around a problem super-fast, and that saves you time and money, as well as tearing out your hair any more than usual. Getting your computer repairs and other service work done smoothly and efficiently pays for itself.
• Security: If you’ve got a brain in your head, invest in good security by subscription with a full spread of browser monitors and live protection. Just make sure you do it. This type of security isn’t expensive, and the risks are serious. Viruses can trash a business, destroy your work, and even wipe out your backups. There was a recent case in Australia where 4800 sites got literally wiped out, no traces left. Some people lost 10 years’ work.

Upgrades- Why they’re so important
There’s a range of natural upgrades for anyone working online which make life a lot easier. The problem is that people tend to take forever to upgrade. That’s a very dangerous habit, one that nobody doing online business can afford. The basic problem is that old software, by definition, and old hardware, by nature, can’t do some things. Old operating systems are a real problem if they can’t run basic functions, which is far more common than most people seem to realize.

Financial software, particularly the kind you’re using for banking or online transactions, needs particular attention. Check with your financial institution’s tech support ASAP if you’re having any issues. Some older systems can’t run new financial software, another good reason for making sure you’re up to date.
Grim as all this may sound, it’s a lot better than suddenly finding your business in multiple sorts of avoidable trouble. Keep an eye on your equipment, software and systems and you won’t have any problems.