Half of my business is supporting small companies. Many times, when I am contacted by a small business owner it is because they have been trying to handle everything themselves or worse, they just have each employee set up their own stuff. In the past 13 years I have seen many issues that these scenarios can cause. I thought I would share some of the scarier issues to hopefully prevent others from going down the same road.
- Allowing everyone to set up their own computers/technology. Sometimes when new entrepreneurs are just starting out, they will go and buy a new computer for their new employee and hand them the box and tell them to go ahead and get it set up and start working. In theory this might seem to be very efficient. The employee can set it up just how they feel it needs to be set up, and it also saves the owner the time it would take them to set it up. I have actually been called many times to help a business owner break into a computer because the employee that set it up and used it is no longer working for them, and they don’t know the password and can’t reach the ex-employee. I have a disk that allows me to delete the password so we can get into the computer and reset the password.
When I set up computers for my customers, I first set up an admin account and only the business owner and I know the password. I then set up an account for the user, and I don’t give them admin rights. This way they can’t download and install any unauthorized software. This helps prevent viruses and malware along with pirated software issues which could cost a small business thousands of dollars. I also add antivirus/antimalware and monitoring software to make sure this computer will continue to work seamlessly for business.
- Business Owner uses their personal accounts to set up employee’s computers. I have had a few instances where the business owner has used their personal Microsoft account to set up computers in their office and by doing this, they were inadvertently sharing all of their personal documents and even their personal accounts (banking and credit cards) and passwords with all of the office computers.
Imagine the business owner’s surprise when they realize that all of their employees have access to their personal Amazon account, bank account and credit cards. They also have access to their personal documents which include some of the business financial data. This was discovered because he saw a picture of his child as the desktop background on an employee’s computer. The same picture he had on his. This employee’s computer was mirroring his personal computer.
When I set up computers for businesses, I never allow people to share accounts. This keeps everyone’s information separate so that no one can see information they shouldn’t, and no one can read other’s email or worse, respond as someone else. The list goes on and on with potential problems when accounts are shared.
These are just a couple of the potential issues of being your own IT person. Many of the things I do and suggest to my business customers actually save them time, money, and productivity. My processes can also keep their information safe and confidential. If you are currently doing it yourself, I would love to help.
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