A business’ IT solutions aren’t the kind of thing that you can worry about once and never touch again. This is why manufacturers and developers are always sending out upgrades. However, you also need to have a strategy ready before you go to implement these upgrades. If you aren’t preparing for a successful upgrade, you could fall behind and have faulty IT systems. For this week’s tip, we’ll review how to put this strategy together.
Steps to Preparing for a Successful Upgrade
Step 1: Determining What Needs an Upgrade, and Why
Naturally, the first step to any upgrade process is identifying that an upgrade is necessary. When a component of your business network requires an upgrade, it will generally be for at least one of three reasons:
- You want your solutions to have an increased capacity or range.
- You want to improve the security of your business and its resources.
- You want an increase in your business’ productivity, with less maintenance required.
If a part of your infrastructure could facilitate any (or all) of these objectives if it was upgraded, it’s probably a good idea to do so. There are very few reasons why you shouldn’t go forward with an upgrade if one is offered. That means that you need to start the next step.
Step 2: Planning and Preparing for Your Upgrade
A technology upgrade isn’t something that can be done on a whim. Planning is usually necessary for success. If you want yours to be successful, you need to have done your due diligence ahead of time. You will want to make sure that your network can support this upgrade in its current state, and any other considerations that come up. Preparing for a successful upgrade will ensure minimal to no issues come up in the actual implementation.
As you’re preparing for the upgrade, you also need to consider any potential negative ramifications that it could have on your users. Will this upgrade be a lengthy one, and will that cause a lengthy interruption to your business’ processes? Proactively considering this will allow you to decrease the impact of these circumstances. For instance, if an upgrade is projected to create a lengthy interruption, it may be wiser to have it implemented after hours, when your resources are less likely to be called for.
Step 3: Protecting Yourself
While your upgrade will ideally run smoothly and not cause any issues, it is better to be prepared for an unideal situation. This is why an upgrade absolutely should be preceded by a comprehensive backup. With a backup taken, any issues that your upgrade may incur can be easily mitigated – so while you won’t have gained anything, your losses will be minimized. If you do not want to carry out the upgrades yourself, Symmetric IT Group is here to help you with all of your IT needs.
Symmetric IT Group can help you manage your technology, ensuring that your upgrade processes are done correctly. Reach out to us at (813) 749-0895 and check out our managed IT services page to learn more!
