Friday, July 30, 2021

Don’t Let Broken Tech Bring Down Your Business

 

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Almost every modern business is reliant on some form of technology whether its industrial machinery, software or a functioning website. If this technology breaks, it could potentially bring your business to a standstill. Downtime can be very costly for businesses - any huge losses could be difficult to recover from. This is why it’s important to make sure that your tech is fully functional. 

There are several ways in which you can protect your business from technology failure. Below are just a few tips for preventing downtime from broken tech.

Do your research before investing in new tech

Before choosing a new machine or a new program, consider whether it’s likely to be reliable.

If you’re buying tech brand new, try to buy from reputable manufacturers. It could be worth looking into reviews left by fellow customers. When investing in custom tech, it could be important to check out the reputation of the developers. 

When buying used machinery, try to similarly buy from a trusted source. Avoid buying old heavily-used machinery - it may be cheaper, but there’s more risk that it will break.

Report small tech problems and schedule fixes

Don’t ignore minor bugs and hitches. In some cases, they could evolve into much bigger problems. 

Get you and your team into a habit of reporting problems and try to schedule fixes while software or machinery is still operational. If a computer keeps freezing or wi-fi keeps cutting out and the problem is getting worse, don’t allow it to progress into a fully-fledged breakdown.

Don’t rely on quick temporary fixes

When fixing broken tech, you should look for permanent solutions and not just quick temporary fixes. Such problems could return to haunt you if the fix is only temporary.

Temporary fixes are a common cause of technical debt - this is when bugs are allowed to build up. While it may take longer to find a permanent solution, you’ll save yourself time in the future by not having to continuously deal with the problem. If you’ve already made several temporary fixes, it could be worth returning to these problems in order to reduce your technical debt. This post offers information on how to measure technical debt. This can prevent future problems from building up and striking at once. 

Replace old tech before it crashes

The majority of technology doesn’t last forever. It’s important to consider the average life of technology you’re using and to consider a replacement once it gets to this stage.

Software lasts roughly 6 to 8 years, with larger programs lasting between 12 and 14 years. You should replace tech once it becomes unsupported - this is when the developer stops providing updates, at which point any future bugs will no longer be patches. Unsupported software is also dangerous as it could become vulnerable to new viruses and hacking methods.

The average life of hardware can vary. PCs generally last between 5 and 8 years, although it is recommended that computers are replaced every 3 to 4 years to ensure that machinery is performing at its best. Some industrial machinery can last much longer than this. In fact, tractors can last well over 20 years with the right amount of care.

Keep machinery clean and lubricated

You can extend the life of industrial machinery by keeping it clean and lubricated. This could include hosing dirt off of construction machinery and carrying out necessary oil changes to keep parts moving smoothly. 

When storing machinery, be careful of contaminants such as dirt and dust. Taking measures to purify the air can prevent dust levels building up and destroying machinery. Outdoor machinery should meanwhile be covered up or stored indoors so that it isn’t damaged by dirt and rain when not in use. 

Create backups where possible

You may be able to guard yourself against tech failure by putting in place backup measures. This could include keeping spares of certain vital machinery such as providing two printers in a busy office that does a lot of printing - if one printer breaks down, you can still use the other one in the meantime. 

A lot of companies also have backup power generators. If there is a power cut, this can allow you to continue generating your own power until you have mains electricity again. Such a generator could include a petrol generator or a solar generator. 




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