Project Spring Cleaning 2009

Technology needs spring cleaning just like rugs and garages. The trick today is to focus on security and maintenance issues that get ignored during normal work days. Set aside some time now to clean up and your technology will support you much more smoothly through the summer.

First, rather than last where we usually think of it, let's talk security. A huge number of security issues would be history if only vendors considered security at the beginning of product or service development rather than tacking on a sloppy coat of security paint at the end. Don't take the same attitude with your technology.

Have any employees left the company in the last few months? If so, make sure their login and access credentials have been deleted or their accounts suspended. Some companies are bad about laying off employees and forgetting to tell the IT group managing network access to shut the door on those people. Even if you don't support remote access to your network, verify users who have left the company have been purged from the access lists for servers and other storage devices.

Add checking e-mail to the list of stuff you review when employees depart. Read through the now departed employee's e-mail and redirect that mail address to the replacement employee or the manager of that job. Customers who don't know an employee left and don't get a response may figure either you don't care or have gone out of business. Neither is a good option in a time when you need every customer.

Verify your phone system redirects calls as well. In fact, while you're looking at your phone system, make sure it's current and you have the best deal from your carrier. If you sign contracts by the year, and your carrier drops prices during that time, they won't call and ask you to send them less money each month. However, when you call after your contract is up, they will make some good offers to keep you. Take advantage and check your contract dates for phone services and everything else you can remember, cell phones included.

Check the update status on all your security software. If you have to go to every desk and update security signature files, do that. And don't forget the security tools installed on your router that links you to the Internet. Most routers have security updates too, and they're not all automatic. If your router is an older consumer level unit, put some budget aside to step up to a real business router. The security you improve will be your own.

The only area people ignore more than security is backup, so let's do that next. How long has it been since you ran a data restore test? If you can't answer immediately, it's been too long.

Go to a PC or a server and rename a folder. Maybe under My Documents change the Contacts folder name to Contract-Test. Then restore the files in that now-missing folder.

How long did it take? Did you get all the files? If you weren't in the office and that needed to be done, could anyone else do that job? What's your grade for the restore, A+ or C or F? You don't have to tell me, but you should know your score.