In IT circles, it’s increasingly popular to herald the “proactive” approach—but what does this really mean?
Here’s what it doesn’t mean: Fixing problems before they’re even noticed. For example, in many companies monitoring programs are set up to identify problems as soon as they occur. IT team members are then called in to mitigate the issue before it snowballs into something bigger.
This isn’t a bad thing by any means, but it’s not truly proactive; it’s still, ultimately, reactive. Truly proactive tech support prevents problems from occurring in the first place—but how?
The Keys to Proactive Tech Support
A good, preventative IT program hinges on a few basic components:
- Pre-scheduled site visits—managing and monitoring systems even when there’s not an emergency!
- Regular health checks, where warning signs and red flags can be identified before they turn into real problems.
- Staff interactions, such as regularly scheduled walk-arounds, where you can talk with employees and ask about any questions or issues they’re having.
- Help desk analysis, wherein you assess all your “tickets” to spot any trends or overarching issues that need attending to.
- High-level reviews, held at regular intervals, to analyze the overall health and efficiency of your IT systems.
Notice that, with each of these steps, you’re taking action even before problems present themselves. You’re not reacting; you’re taking the first steps. That’s what a truly preventative IT approach looks like.
The benefit is that you’re never left scrambling to address a problem, because you pre-empt it. This in turn frees up more of your resources to grow your program and innovate new ways for your company to be efficient.
Make sure that your approach to IT problems isn’t based on reaction—but rather, on strategic, preemptive action.