Nestled in the rolling hills of Southern California, the Inland Empire is a vibrant hub of commerce, culture, and innovation. Employing more than 2 million people, the IE is home to a diverse array of enterprises, all with one thing in common: they increasingly depend on technology to power their operations. Companies looking to standardize and streamline their operations often find managing an IT infrastructure can be a daunting task, especially for small and medium-sized businesses. From constant cyber threats to outdated software, the challenges facing IE businesses are unavoidable. In this article, we'll explore the top IT challenges facing businesses in the Inland Empire.
In 2022, the number of cyberattacks grew by 38% compared to 2021. To quantify that, globally there was an average of 1168 weekly attacks per organization with the most attacked industries being Education, Government, and Healthcare. For the Inland Empire, this represents approximately 32% of the labor force. With cyber-attacks occurring increasingly more frequently, it's important for IE business owners to have a strong cybersecurity plan to protect their organization and their client data.
Data backup and disaster recovery are essential components of any business's IT infrastructure. Losing critical data due to a server crash, natural disaster, cyber-attack, or human error can results in lost productivity, downtime, and even permanent data loss. Close your eyes and imagine what it would be like if your company could not access records or process invoices. How long could you limp along? A month? A week? A day? This is the value of a data backup and disaster recovery plan.
A quick check: If you have PCs running Windows 8 or older or Servers running Windows Server 2012 or older, unfortunately this paragraph is about you. Not limited to IE businesses, many businesses today rely on legacy systems that are no longer supported by vendors or lack the features and functionality of modern technology. This can limit their ability to compete with more tech-savvy competitors and may also result in compatibility issues with newer software and hardware. Upgrading these systems can be costly and time-consuming, but it's necessary to stay current and competitive in today's fast-paced business environment.
We live in an interesting age where the nerds have become members of the It club (Slight pun intended). In a 2021 Gartner Survey, IT Executives see the talent shortage as the most significant barrier to adopting emerging technologies. To take on the challenges previously mentioned, Inland Empire businesses looking to staff a Director of IT or IT Manager, System Administrator, Network Administrator, and Help Desk positions find this to be a highly difficult endeavor. If they are able to find good IT professionals, the next challenge becomes paying them a fair salary and having enough work to keep them engaged and grow their skills. In effect, having a solid Cybersecurity plan, data backup and recovery strategy, and technology lifecycle management is no good if you don't have the in-house talent to implement and manage the solutions.
While this list is in no way all of the challenges IE businesses take on daily, it is among the most important initiatives these organizations should be considering. Individually, they each can dramatically hinder their ability to support and grow their businesses. Realistically, many businesses are likely facing more than one of these currently. A Managed Services Provider (MSP) like Marcoby is the best, most cost-effective way to add IT Talent to your organization. An experienced solutions provider can help design, implement, and maintain solutions that address each of these challenges and plan IT Roadmaps that allow Inland Empire businesses to plan their budgets and resources to overcome them.
