There are so many different factors to think about when setting up a new business. In this guide, I’m going to outline the three key areas to focus on when setting up a new business from scratch. Keeping things simple so you can focus on winning new business is the goal of this guide. Here are the three IT functions you need to get right when setting up a new business.
1) Website & Email
Quite often when a new business is formed the business name is decided upon and a quick visit to a website host to purchase a new domain name for the company is done. Usually, this is the same place that will offer to host your website and provide some form of email solution.
The problem with website hosts for email is that there is limited functionality when it comes to business email. The tech behind most of these email hosting solutions is called POP or IMAP – we won’t explain what they are as this is a practical guide.
Both POP and IMAP have their limitations, which will become very apparent as the business grows. That’s why this is the first key point in our business guide, getting your email upgraded to the right service provider is crucial as we all know how much we rely on email for day to day tasks.
There are currently two main choices when it comes to having a business email service, either Office 365 or G-Suite (formerly Google Apps). For now, it’s worth paying that little bit extra for one of these two services.
Note that you may require an IT professional or IT company to move your current company domain to Office 365 or G-Suite. As with anything in life, it’s not straight forward but the level of service you get once on the platform is well worth the hassle up front. Aberdeen Cyber Security can provide you with this email migration service.
Aberdeen Cyber Security have helped a number of new customers because of this exact reason. Many businesses are coming to us with email related problems and email security is becoming a large part of our business.
One particular customer was using a shared email and web hosting product from a UK domain registrar. The hosting company sold our client a hosting platform which was shared with their other customers. As it was shared, another tenant was either hacked, sending spam or doing something malicious which then resulted in my client being blacklisted. The end result was that our clients emails were never being delivered to the recipients inbox, but rather it was always sent to spam/junk. A quick migration to Office365 has resolved the problem.
2) Spam & Virus Protection
Spam protection is part of both Office 365 and G Suite as standard. You won’t get any form of spam protection from regular website hosts email service so again this is another selling point when migrating to a business email system.
Now you might not think much of spam to start off with but as time goes on your email address will more than likely get added to a few email lists where it can become a real problem. This will clog up your inbox and distract you from the real emails that need addressing.
It can also be a security issue as some of the incoming spam will have attachment invoices and PDFs which are meant to look genuine. This couldn’t be further from the truth, and they are malicious and will cause your IT estate real harm.
Both Office 365 and G Suite will protect your email security but there’s also the wider internet where having business grade virus protection on your main computer systems is well worth the small investment.
There are multiple antivirus suppliers on the market all with their own unique benefits but the one-word advice I would give you here is do not go down the free route for your anti-virus protection. I’ve seen time and time again, many systems get infected that have previously been secured with “free anti-virus software”.
For a breakdown on which Anti-Virus software to choose just ask us. We are partners with a range of different AV providers and can provide you with a fully managed service.
3) IT Support
The main topics we have discussed so far in this article have all been technical in nature and you might not feel comfortable jumping in hands-on setting up new systems, emails and configuring Microsoft Outlook. This is where you’ll call upon an IT Support company to assist in the setup of your new business.
What can you expect from an IT provider?
Usually, they will offer a form of proactive monitoring of your IT systems. In the form of a software tool, it will monitor your desktops & laptops and alert them to any problems that might be going on in the background. The proactive monitoring works well for most businesses and complements the reactive IT support that all IT providers usually offer.
A helpdesk which can be called upon to help you remotely or where necessary onsite to assist with technical and IT support issues is a life saver.
If you are in the process of setting up a new business or know someone that is don’t hesitate to contact us.
Aberdeen Cyber Security – Protecting your business.