Blog / Is your new hardware compatible with your environment?
Planning ahead will help you avoid significant issues.
The first part of any change project is planning what needs to be done, including the materials needed, additional fees or licenses that need to be paid, and any modifications to your existing setup to make it all work. It doesn’t matter if you’re putting in a new window, knocking down a wall, or putting in some new electronic equipment or software; if it’s going to get done efficiently and effectively, someone along the way needs to have a plan. And not just a plan, but a good one at that, which includes all the things you’re likely going to need, as well as contingencies for those that could go wrong. That way you can budget appropriate time and resources.
Now, when it comes to physical efforts like construction or roadwork, this principle is pretty much always applied. After all, nobody wants to accidentally rupture a sewage line. Unfortunately, the same zeal for planning isn’t applied to computers and other IT infrastructure. Usually the “plan” is just to purchase some new device that’s meant to solve some immediate problem. And since there’s no plan for the new equipment, not only does it not solve the problem, but it winds up wasting a whole lot of time at the least and can actually cause additional problems. When this happens, the cause is usually two-fold:
- The problem itself is not properly understood (often due to rushing the situation).
- The “solution” does not integrate easily into your organization.
Now to be fair, computers can be complicated and I’ve personally witnessed many mistakes when it comes to people putting in new equipment (which is why you should hire professionals to begin with); sometimes new computers come with Windows Home edition and can’t properly integrate with the network. Other times software fails because of the processor, or the performance is terrible thanks to insufficient memory. These are the sorts of issues that can happen when the desire to save a few bucks means using casual or inexperienced workers who will likely overlook key details.
It doesn’t matter how important or critical or pressing an issue is, you need to take the time in the beginning to properly understand and plan for it, and make sure the proposed solution will actually fix the problem. Blindly buying hardware is a great way to waste both money and the goodwill of the people who setup the “solution” in the first place. Always remember that if it’s critical that a problem gets resolved quickly, it’s also critical that it gets resolved the first time.
This week’s snippet of Shakespeare come from the play Henry V;“I would give all of my fame for a pot of ale and safety.”
If you’d like help planning your next hardware upgrade project, feel free to contact one of our cybersecurity professionals at your convenience, and get yourself some stress-free IT.
Be kind, courtesy your friendly neighbourhood cyber-man.
