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If you had to drive your car an average of 300 kilometers daily to do your job properly could you:
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Afford to be without it for a very long period of time?
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Withstand the inconvenience of it not functioning at unpredictable times?
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Afford to have it operate inefficiently and use more fuel than it should?
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Afford to have it stolen, with the only copy of all your business files in it?
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Or have it stolen and the thief ends up using it in a violent crime, or is involved in a serious accident?
So how would you look after your car if it were critical to your income or health?
Among the alternatives you would probably:
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Schedule regular preventative maintenance at times when it is convenient to you,
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Respond to all manufacturers recalls promptly,
- Keep the engine tuned, the fluids at proper levels and the tire pressure at recommended settings so it consumed fuel more efficiently,
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Keep copies of your important business files in another location as well as in your car,
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Place appropriate insurance coverage on your car and your activities, and
- Install a security system consistent with the inherent risk of theft, and the cost of having it stolen.
This all makes sense. But what if you were dealing with your computer system? Are the costs of problems and efficiencies in your computer systems as clear-cut as they are for your car?
Most progressive businesses make extensive use of computer systems to help their people operate a better business. In many cases today, a business would not survive if they had to operate without the use of the computer system.
Many consider the hard cost of their computers and related products as the primary cost of their computer system.
We’re prepared to suggest that it is not!
Rather, it’s the information (data) they retain, and the speed at which they retrieve it that is so vital ... the computer itself is a very intelligent filing system.
You’ve encountered a significant cost to acquire the information system that you have. What about the data?
Realistically no business can have absolute bullet-proof mechanisms in place to eliminate unscheduled break downs in their computer systems. But there are some fairly cost effective procedures that you can undertake to reduce the risk and frequency of them happening as well as the cost of recovering from them if they do happen.
To put some meat in the term “cost-effective” it’s wise to consider the potential costs involved with unscheduled down time or lost data due to hard drive failure.
How much does it cost if you cannot have access to your information system?
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Can you accept orders for new sales on time?
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Can you ship the ones you have on time?
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Can you create the correspondence you need on time?
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Can you research the web sites you need to?
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Can you pay your suppliers and employees?
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Can you manage your time?
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Can you place orders with your suppliers properly?
What if you had to replace all the important data on your hard drive?
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Could you?
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Could you do it within an appropriate time frame?
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Could you do it for an affordable cost?
Once you have your information system in place, (given that the programs work as you expected them to) there are several criteria that must be met to some degree of satisfaction in evaluating the effectiveness of your system.:
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Reliability of the hardware and components,
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Speed of operation of the software,
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Security of your information from unauthorized users both within and outside your organization,
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Predictability of downtime, and
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Ease of recovery from computer crashes and loss of data
Our preventative maintenance program will improve every criteria outlined above! |
