The season for limited business hours and holiday travel is upon us. Before you take that Christmas vacation, though, there are a few things you should do to ensure that your physical and digital work environments will be intact upon your return. Here’s what we want you to keep in mind before you head out for the holidays.

Pre-Vacation IT Checklist for Business

The overall goal is to ensure that your data is secure and that you are able to address whatever might come your way. The last thing you want to do is allow operations, security, or client service to suffer.

  1. Backup everything. If you’re a Realnets managed services client, this is not a concern for you. We’ve got it handled. For the rest of you, it’s a very big concern, and the results could be catastrophic if you neglect to take this precaution. You just never know what (or who) can happen to your network while you’re away.
  2. Turn on your away messages. No matter what software or platform you use to communicate with your customers, they’re going to be very upset with you if they’re waiting for a reply and don’t know why they’re not getting it. This applies to email, any apps that you use to communicate, any chat clients on your website, and yes, your company voicemail.
  3. Set yourself up to handle business remotely. If you have never used something like this, trust us when we tell you it could be a game-changer. This allows you to reply to urgent requests and operational demands without physically reporting to your office during your vacation. If you need help implementing a remote access system, give us a call.
  4. Establish a relationship with an emergency IT team. If you own or manage a business that continues operating through the holidays (common in a variety of industries, including transportation, restaurants, and retail), then you need to know who to call if something fails during this very busy time of year. You do not want to have to close your doors on a holiday because you did not prepare for IT challenges. We see this happen every year!

Nobody wants to think about what’s going on at work while they’re on vacation. If your business is heavily dependent on the stability of your computers and network, take advantage of this short vacation IT checklist, and contact us to learn how we can make this a simple, easy season for you!