Decades of experience administering small business computer systems have revealed the need for this publication: a succinct, non-technical guide for business owners and office managers that tells precisely what they need to do to keep their computer systems running and their business information safe. This is that guide.

Written with a minimum of jargon, the average person can make use of each chapter independently, without having to read the entire manual. However, to really get a handle on your IT system, work through the book from first to last.

Use the book in conjunction with the described techniques - and you WILL have your business information secure and your computer system working efficiently. If your business relies on its computer system, you need this.

CONTENTS

Critical Concept 1: There are two categories of things to think about:  That is, two systems requiring management: the computer network itself (including hardware, software, and services) and your unique business information (data) which resides on the computers.

You probably already know this, but before proceeding, I want to make sure you understand the difference between data files and application files.

Applications are the software that you buy and install on your computers, like Excel™ and WordPerfect™.  Data files, on the other hand, are the specific things that you and your staff build with those applications: your spreadsheets, letters, invoices and email.

Applications (like Windows XP™, WordPerfect™ and Excel™) are part of your computer, not part of your business data. Applications’ media and their installation keys should be stored together in a secure location.

More on this "secure location" in the next section, Essential Techniques, first spend a minute to organize your thinking about your computer system. Get out a piece of paper and make two columns on it. In the first column make a quick list of the major components of your network. In the second column list your important data files.

This piece of paper is the first item to go in a three-ring binder, we're going to call your TECHNICIAN'S BINDER, an important part of managing a computer system. As a computer support person for many small businesses, I keep such a binder for each of my clients. It is the most indispensable tool I use. More on that in the next section: Essential Techniques.

After you've listed your computer assets and created a TECHNICIAN'S BINDER, you're part way there. The other system that has to be managed is your business data. (More on that later and in the next chapter: "Back It Up, Then Back It Up Again".) Critical Concept 1 is that there are two systems here to be managed: the network asset itself and the, more valuable, information on it.

Critical Concept 2: Managing the asset. Management of your computer network’s equipment should be modeled after an asset control or company fleet management system… as similarly as possible to any asset control procedure already in place. Talk with your tax accountant about this, and find out if he is depreciating (or if you would gain a tax advantage by depreciating) your computers. This will help determine how much detail you need to keep track of.

The maintenance and software subscription renewals involved with running a company’s computer system make it much like managing a company vehicle fleet. Use your knowledge (or the knowledge of others in your organization) of fleet and/or inventory management when putting together a procedural infrastructure for the storage of parts and scheduling maintenance and software subscription renewals (more on this in the Essential Techniques. section, coming up).

Like fleet management, if you only have two or three workstations (or cars) not much procedure is necessary to manage them. But, in both cases, the sooner you put a procedural system in place, the sooner your company will be ready for growth.

Critical Concept 3: Managing your data. Organizing your company’s specific business data -- your email, contracts, computer-generated invoices, etcetera -- is another basic concept to think about. The management system for your data files and business information can be modeled after your accounting file system.

A good, old fashioned accounting department provides a sound file management model, that is, Accounts Receivable, Payroll, Operations, and Accounts Payable, which are collections of information about Customers, Employees, Company Overhead, and Vendors respectively. Of course, your file management model should be customized to meet the needs of your office and business, but some systematic file organization should be implemented across all your workstations to facilitate back ups, restorations, and changes in employees and their functions.

Critical Concept 4: Entropy. Things break. When thinking about your computer system, keep foremost in your mind the potential for failure of each and every part of the network. Envision, before it happens, what your workflow is going to look like on the day a given printer or PC breaks down and how long it’s going to take to repair or replace it.

Remember every box and cable has to be working, and in unison with every other box and cable. Still, while each part has the potential to utterly fail, having a back-up procedure in place ahead of time will save hundreds of dollars in lost work and keep you from running around like Keystone Cops when it does.

For example, if internet access is crucial to the functioning of your business, consider implementing an internet access back-up procedure. Case in point, many small businesses use DSL for internet access. While generally good, it seems to be less stable than broadband cable access. If you have DSL as internet access for your network (or any access that’s running less than 100% of the time), then plug in each workstation’s dial-up modem, add some phone numbers (from your ISP ), and you’ll have back-up internet access for little or no cost.

Also, consider replacing BEFORE it breaks any crucial piece of equipment and keeping the old one in your computer locker for a back-up. Check the computer store ads occasionally and pickup an extra cable modem, router, monitor, mouse and keyboard, when you find them on sale. Having these things on hand will not only save you money on the purchase price, but also half-a-day’s lost productivity compared to purchasing the thing on the day it breaks down.

Closely related to the Critical Concepts discussed above are Essential Techniques, things you can do to better manage your computer system, keep your network safe and minimize downtime when something does break.

Essential Technique 1: Write Down Everything. When part of a computer system fails, as it eventually will, one of the bigger frustrations of putting it back together comes when no one can remember the passwords. Users report that they thought whoever installed the PC or printer or router was keeping track of the passwords. That person (if you can find him) distinctly remembers giving the passwords to the key users.

Face it, when you have a network of PC’s, nobody can be expected to remember all the passwords to all the workstations’ users, the ISP, routers, and software subscriptions. So, you’ve got to write this stuff down.

That’s where your TECHNICIAN'S BINDER comes in. Record passwords and other basic important information about each PC in your network and put it together in the binder. Put a calendar in the binder, and on the calendar write down maintenance and software subscription expiration dates. The idea is, come a time when you need to call in a technician, this binder will contain everything she needs to know to fix your system.

Essential Technique 2: Put Things Away So You Can Find Them Later. Believe it or not, another common problem that arises when repairing a computer is that no one can find the back-up parts, the extra keyboard you were sure you bought a couple months ago, or the correct CD with the version of Microsoft Office that you need to apply their latest security patch. So, all these things need to be put away, preferably in a secure location, where you can actually find them.

Get organized. First, you need a box and a closet or locker. In this box, you put all your computer miscellany and nothing but computer miscellany: like extra cables and keyboards, software CD’s, and your TECHNICIAN'S BINDER.

Next, put all your software, instruction sheets, equipment drivers and manuals, and your TECHNICIAN'S BINDER in one box. Then, put the box in a closet or locker with your spare monitors, keyboards and parts, and a sign-out sheet. The result is that you will have a handle on all the components and variables in your computer network. Add a thorough data back-up procedure, and your computer system will be practically invincible!

If you really want to have your act together (or if you have a problem with things disappearing), put a “Software and Peripherals Sign-Out Sheet” on a clipboard in your computer parts locker. The sign-out sheet will let you know where that last keyboard went or who borrowed your copy of WORD™. It should contain a complete inventory of everything in the locker. In practice, it will be a list of the expensive things. In either case, if it’s listed on a Sign-Out Sheet, then it should be in the locker, until someone signs it out.

Essential Technique 3. Create and Hold to Schedules and Calendars. While any maintenance calendar is better than none, I’ve found that a simple monthly calendar, punched with three holes and added to your TECHNICIAN'S BINDER is the best and most flexible. Come the end of the year; add another calendar, cheap and easy, for an ongoing record of computer systems maintenance and upgrades.

It doesn’t really matter what sort of calendar you use, but one thing you must do, to keep a good handle on your computer system, is use it. Every time you renew a software subscription, make a note of when it’ll expire on the calendar. Best practice of all, schedule monthly maintenance and have the maintenance checked off on the calendar when completed.

Five minutes per month spent on each PC – checking the back-up, the virus vaults and anti-spyware – is time very well spent when compared with waiting until some spyware takes over a PC, and you find that what you thought was a thorough data back-up was actually missing crucial files and folders. Five minutes per month per PC can save your company from disaster. More on that in the next chapter, a lot more.

Essential Technique 4. Assign Responsibility (to as many people as possible). Decide who in your organization is going to be responsible for putting the parts away and listing them on the “Software and Peripherals Sign-Out Sheets”. Decide who will be responsible for – from time to time – comparing the contents of the computer parts locker with the lists on the Sign-Out Sheets. Decide who will be responsible for reviewing and implementing the maintenance calendar and licensing schedules. If you have the manpower, assign different people to these different tasks, and you will have a stable computer system infrastructure which does not rely on the idiosyncrasies and attendance of one person.

The final component of a successful computer management system is getting other people to use it. For example, if you want your employees to use a computer parts’ sign-out sheet, make sure they know that if they remove anything from the locker, they are expected to sign it out. No system, no matter how brilliant, will work if the people involved don’t use it. I recommend communicating what you’re trying to accomplish, several times and in different ways.

For example, announce the new procedure at enough meetings that everyone gets a chance to hear about it. Then, include the announcement in an email for company distribution. Post a reminder sign in your computer locker, like one of these examples, for employee compliance with the sign-out sheet procedure. A little humor can go a long way toward helping win people over to your plan.

You would be surprised how many business owners are completely dependent on their computer systems without having the slightest control of them. By making use of the Critical Concepts and Essential Techniques described here, you will go a long way toward gaining control of your computer system and greatly enhance the stability of your company.