How to Prevent Common Technological Issues Occurring in the Office

“They” say that if you fail to prepare, you prepare to fail. While this phrase is more intended as a self-motivation tool to make sure you’re mentally ready for whatever craziness comes your way, it also can be used as encouragement to make sure you have backup plans, especially in your work.

Technology is just one aspect of the work environment that can easily fail when ignored. Since so many of today’s workplaces are completely dependent on tech, from phones to computers to the Internet, when one or all of them go down, productivity can plummet in a big way. Malfunctioning or off-line hardware like printers and copiers can potentially disrupt the whole organisation if the right, or perhaps the wrong, piece breaks.

So it makes sense to prepare for the worst and hope for the best as far as where your office tech is concerned. Doing so prepares you for just about anything.

Here are some places to start:

1. Power problems.
   
   While few networks “plug right into the wall” any more, many still are vulnerable if there’s a company-wide power outage. But what can be worse if there is a bump in power, or extra pulse when power comes back on. This has the possibility of overloading delicate equipment or cascading to other components.
   
   Solutions can include emergency back-ups or Uninterrupted Power Supply for your network devices, which have battery backups and keep a constant, safe flow of correct voltage. A new option is to regularly back up to the data cloud, so even if your hardware is compromised, you can retrieve your data from anywhere.

2. Copiers. The best defence against things breaking is anticipating them, which is why it’s smart to include a service contract for ongoing support rather than not knowing what to do when things go wrong, or putting off regular service and maintenance.
   
   Working with a company such as Copy Print Services to arrange regular maintenance will help to ensure it can be utilised for current and future needs and it also saves money by cutting unnecessary costs – as you won’t need to keep replacing or fixing the device.

3. Phones. This isn’t as critical as it used to be when fewer people had their own mobile devices, but some companies with landlines could still be impacted if phone service goes down. 
   
   Possible solutions could be to provide employee with a business phone, or, you can consider switching to a service that lets you make telephone calls – or even video calls – over your Internet browser. These Voice Over IP services are often less expensive than a local telephone utility and can keep your team connected to each other, your clients and your customers from anywhere.

4. The Internet itself.
   
   Sometimes you’re at the mercy of your service provider, and some national ISPs may have system-wide outages due to problems elsewhere in their network that can still affect you. Larger ISPs may also be difficult to work with to provide effective and timely solutions.  Smart companies, however, anticipate these types of problems, and make sure their machines, modems and routers are all up to the challenges.
   
   Possible solutions can include working with a local provider, since they’re more likely to be aware of any outages and work with you to try to solve get you connected quickly. Or consider a local back-up ISP for emergencies. It may not have the speed and bandwidth of a national provider but can be effective if there’s a larger problem. Some people’s cell phones may be able to create small-scale Internet hubs. Doing this over a prolonged period of time may use a bunch of data, but can be a good alternative in case your main Internet connection is down for the count.  

Being so reliant on technology can often prove to be a burden when it fails us, but if you carry out all necessary measures to prevent persistent problems, you should be able to power through.