The coronavirus pandemic has forever changed how companies do business. Now, a lot of small businesses have gone remote. They’ve abandoned the expensive high-rise offices for home offices and small spaces to gather for meetings.
As companies transition to our more digitized world, a lot of them are looking for network installation checklists to help them get their new spaces set up. Luckily for you, we are here to help you with just this.
So if you would like to learn more then keep on reading and we will walk you through everything that you will want to know about installing a new network.
Move On-Premise Servers to the Cloud
In-office resources can be a drain on space, energy, and time. A lot of companies use on-premise servers as file shares for workers sharing spreadsheets, archiving reports, and presentations.
Now that we have cloud-based sharing and storage solutions, business owners are realizing how much they can save by switching to the cloud. When you use the cloud, you can protect your data and allow workers to collaborate in real-time in different locations.
As long as you have an internet connection, you’ll have no problem accessing and utilizing the cloud.
Reputable IT companies like Be Structured can help you with this process.
Verify Wi-Fi Router Patching Settings
Are you not sure if your router downloads and installs software patches automatically? If you aren’t sure then you should definitely check on that.
If it doesn’t do this then you should work through a configuration change or get a new wi-fi router that does this automatically. Unfortunately, a lot of checklists don’t mention this point, even though it is very important.
This is one of the most vulnerable aspects of the small business network because potential criminals don’t even need to be in your office to take advantage of this.
Run an Internal Network Vulnerability Scan
A lot of small companies focus their on-premise network security on workstations on each worker’s desk. While that is a good start, you need to remember that other devices are also connected to the network. These devices include video equipment, smart displays, conference room phones, printers, and fax machines.
A common oversight when small businesses set up their networks is forgetting to change default administrative passwords and usernames on non-workstation devices. They neglect to have an action plan for patching these devices.
You should run a business-grade internal network vulnerability scan. This will help you find vulnerable devices connected to your network that you might otherwise have forgotten about.
Label Active Network Taps
Do you ever find yourself in an office that has way too many network taps? When this happens, it can be difficult just to determine which taps are active. And then when an office reconfiguration finally happens, mayhem can suddenly break loose.
These days, it is becoming much more common for companies to sublease space and move around a lot more often. This means that you want to keep things light and organized so you can move around as you scale up or down.
You should put a good labeling system in place. This way, you can keep track of which network taps are connected to which ports on the switch.
Don’t Be Stingy with Firewall
When you run a small business, you want to make your dollar stretch as far as possible. And that can sometimes mean cutting corners and buying cheaper equipment.
However, one place where you don’t want to worry about price is firewall. There is a big gap between cheap firewall options and reputable options.
You get what you pay for when you pay for firewall. And getting a cheap but ineffective firewall will end up leaving vulnerable in the end.
Rotate Infrastructure Configuration Passwords
If you are like most other small businesses then you likely don’t spend too much time making sure that your admin passwords for infrastructure components are rotating on a continual basis. If you’re moving offices, then it is now a good time to change all of your passwords.
Ideally, you will change your passwords every few months. Doing it at the start or end of every quarter is a good way to do it.
Don’t Automatically Implement a VPN
Some IT professionals might find this next piece of advice to be a tad unconventional. However, it is also very important. before you run out to set up a VPN (virtual private network) to let your workers access your office network from their homes, you should figure out which office tools they are depending on.
Is it a peer’s workstation? Is it a file share? Whatever it is, it is likely not something that actually needs to be hosted on the premises. When you trace back to the reason employees need VPN access to the on-premise network, you will be able to see the dependencies that shouldn’t be kept on the premises in the first place.
When you move some of the dependencies over to the cloud, you’ll find that most workers don’t actually need VPN access to your local network.
The Importance of Using this Network Installation Checklist for SMBs
Hopefully, after reading the above article, you now understand the importance of using this network installation checklist for SMBs. As we can see, this is a great opportunity to get your network running in a way that can safely support your business.
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