Many small businesses are striving for growth, yet scaling can bring unique challenges, from managing rising demand for your product/services to growing your team with talented individuals and continuing to maintain excellent service. However, this article is here to show that with CTRL-S your IT infrastructure will be ready to scale with your business whenever you need it.
The Challenges of Scaling IT Infrastructure For Small Businesses:
- Outdated Technology – Legacy systems may not be able to handle the demands of a growing business, or a change in working patterns to facilitate growth and modern working culture.
- Lack of Scalability – Current systems may not be designed to facilitate growth, with either hardware or software restrictions leading to bottlenecks and further limitations.
- Overburdened IT Staff – Whilst many small businesses don’t have a dedicated IT specialist, someone within the business looks after the IT. As the business grows, the demand on this individual will, too, which often causes their workload to be unmanageable, leading to areas of downtime and productivity loss.
- Security Vulnerabilities – As a business expands, so does the attack surface. Without proper security measures, both technical and team member training, your team may be more vulnerable to cyber threats.
- Complex Application Catalogue – Many small businesses fall into the trap of having a different application or service for each function. As businesses grow, their software catalogue can become densely populated.
How CTRL-S Helped One Business Overcome IT Challenges: Recently, a new client came to CTRL-S facing challenges with their outdated IT infrastructure, which relied on legacy solutions that made remote working impossible. This was due to a local file storage solution and dated IMAP email technology. They also had security concerns regarding their infrastructure and wanted CTRL-S to design a modern solution which aligned with best practices for both security and scalability.
The Solution:
To combat these issues, we worked with the business to migrate their files and email system to Microsoft 365, which is considered the industry standard solution for businesses to use for email and file storage. Upon completing the full migration to Microsoft 365, we provided training and are working closely with the client to identify other areas of their operations within their business we can improve using the technology and services provided to them with their Microsoft 365 licenses.
Enhanced Security:
We also implemented the suite of specialist security tools, including Endpoint Detection Response (EDR), Remote Machine Management (RMM) and Managed Detection and Response (MDR), which are included as standard with our Cyber Protect Plans.
Now the migration has been successfully completed; the business has a cloud-based solution (Microsoft 365) for its document management and email.
This has brought the client a wealth of new functionality, including:
- Automatic replies
- Shared calendars
- Shared mailboxes
- An intranet through SharePoint
- Instant messaging and video conferencing in Microsoft Teams
- Remote working
Looking Ahead:
Our client now has peace of mind from the security toolkit we have integrated into their infrastructure and we look forward to supporting this client as they continue to grow and unlock new possibilities through a more flexible, security-driven approach to IT.
Microsoft Solution Specialists:
As specialists in Microsoft-based solutions, CTRL-S is equipped to help businesses like yours leverage the full power of Microsoft 365, securely and efficiently.
If your IT is holding your business back from growth, get in touch today to see what CTRL-S can do for you.
