As a computer technician you have many areas to take care of when working for a small business, from troubleshooting problems, updating software, helping users to putting out fires, among other things. It is very easy to lose oneself in the immediate urgencies of the day while key functions get ignored. It is important to make time to take care of these 3 key points for your clients.
1. Disaster recovery. Encourage your clients to protect their data and prepare for business interruptions ahead of time. Make sure to have proper backups, onsite, offsite and if possible online. Make a schedule for testing restoring data. You want to make sure the restore process works before you need it. Keep a log of good backups and have a notification system when something fails such as email so you can immediately correct any issues with the backup systems. Over 75 percent of small companies don't have a disaster recovery plan yet for a great deal of them this could make the difference between whether they stay in business or not in the event of a disaster such as fire, theft, flooding etc. Work on protecting you client's data and systems and in return, they will take care of you.
1. Disaster recovery. Encourage your clients to protect their data and prepare for business interruptions ahead of time. Make sure to have proper backups, onsite, offsite and if possible online. Make a schedule for testing restoring data. You want to make sure the restore process works before you need it. Keep a log of good backups and have a notification system when something fails such as email so you can immediately correct any issues with the backup systems. Over 75 percent of small companies don't have a disaster recovery plan yet for a great deal of them this could make the difference between whether they stay in business or not in the event of a disaster such as fire, theft, flooding etc. Work on protecting you client's data and systems and in return, they will take care of you.
2. Fault tolerance for critical systems. Companies depend on databases and applications to run their business. Create fault tolerance and redundancy for critical systems to minimize downtime when a device or software fails. This includes hardware fault tolerance such as equipping servers with redundant power, smart UPS y RAID 1, 5 or 10 etc. Create simple yet realistic contingency plans that can be tested and have a good chance of being implemented in the event that they are needed.
3. Proper system documentation. Whether you use a database, specialized software or even a simple spreadsheet, document your client's system information. Things such as passwords, IP address, software keys, subscriptions and software and hardware vendor contact information. This documentation should be readily available. Having to track down this information when is needed can cause unnecessary downtime and could cost your client hundreds, possible thousands of dollars on lost business and tech support fees. Make sure to give this information to your client, it is not meant to be kept for yourself. Don't hold your client hostage. So be the hero and do your due diligence ahead of time. If you explain the value and benefits of having a properly documented system they will be happy to pay you for this service.
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