After a long couple of months, businesses in Indiana and the rest of the country are beginning the road back to reopening. Many business owners are adjusting to the new social distancing and capacity guidelines as they prepare to turn the lights back.
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One big consideration is the technology that’s been sitting dormant for about eight weeks. When electronics have been out of operation for that long, you can’t just turn them on and expect everything to run smoothly.
When equipment is out of operation for several weeks, it misses the normal IT service that it usually sees, such as getting updated with security patches. It also will most likely be coated in a layer of dust.
Other technology considerations have to do with the new “normal” for offices and retailers, which includes social distancing and sanitizing requirements.
To help you prepare for a safe and successful reopening, the Magnify247.com team has put together a technology reopening guide.
Steps to Ensuring a Smooth Reopening for Your Tech
When you first open your office after about two months of being under lockdown at home, it’s tempting to just assume everything’s fine when it starts to come alive again when the power is flipped on.
But unless you take the proper steps, you could be facing a hard drive crash or malware infection during your first week of being back.
The cost of downtime for a small business is between $137 and $427 per minute.
Here are several steps to ensure security both inside and outside for your technology infrastructure so it can support a successful reopening strategy.
Make Sure Utilities are Working
After being off for so long, you might turn your equipment back on and find it’s no longer connected to the internet. Your router may need to be reset, or there may be another issue.
One of the first things you’ll want to do when walking back into your place of business is to check that electricity, internet, HVAC, and other vital functions are working properly.
Have Technology Dusted
Those innocent-looking particles of dust that have collected during shutdown can cause big problems for you. Dust particles that get into a hard drive can easily cause a head to crash.
Dust in vents and fan areas of servers and workstations can cause overheating, which could also lead to a hard drive meltdown and lost data.
You want to have your equipment properly dusted with compressed air to ensure you won’t run into problems shortly after it’s turned back on. Make sure to include any customer-facing technology (like POS devices), printers, and other electronics.
Have Equipment Serviced & Updates Applied
Along with the dusting, have your equipment serviced by a professional technician before you put it back in operation. Many IT pros will do the dusting at the same time as the maintenance check.
During the servicing, your devices are checked to ensure all parts are running properly and that there are no problems that may have came up during the time everything was shut down (such as a rodent chewing wires).
The technician will also ensure your devices have any updates and security patches applied that may have been issued while your equipment was shut down. These are vital to preventing a virus or malware infection.
Disinfect All Electronics
To instill confidence in your employees that are returning to your place of business as well as any customers that may be visiting, you’ll want to disinfect your devices properly.
This includes things like keyboards, touch screens, mice, touch pads on registers or copiers, etc.
You’ll want to have this done by a professional that knows how to properly handle sanitizing of electronics, rather than just a general cleaning company. There are certain precautions that need to be taken with tech (such as no bleach or water, using 70% alcohol solution, etc.).
Schedule Ongoing Disinfecting
While you’re having the initial disinfecting done, plan your recurring schedule. For a while after reopening, you’ll want to disinfect areas of your technology that are touched and could potentially spread a virus.
Set this up on a recurring basis. For some offices that might be nightly and for others it might be weekly.
Distance Workstations, Printers, and Other Technology
Social distancing is one of the requirements that businesses have to adhere to when they reopen. This means keeping people at least six feet apart.
This distancing of your workstations, printers, POS (point of sale) technology, and other electronics may mean moving wires, routers, or other connections related to your network.
You’ll want to ensure this is done by a professional, so you don’t end up cutting off internet connections to certain types of equipment. You also want to make sure everything is set up in a strategic and productive way, so your team can be just as efficient with the new distanced layout.
Get Help with Your Technology Reopening from Magnify247.com
You’re going to have enough things on your plate when it comes to post-lockdown reopening, let Magnify247.com take care of your tech for you. We’ll ensure it’s safe, secure, and ready to fully support your business.
