Get your company's IT ready for summer

Summer is when the most things go wrong with a company's IT and the fewest people are around to fix them. Staff on holiday, the on-duty technician away, and the heat pushing the equipment. With a simple review before July, you reach August without scares. Here is the checklist.

Why summer is tricky

Two things come together. First, there are fewer people: if something breaks, whoever resolves it may be on holiday. Second, the heat: server rooms and equipment suffer more, and an air conditioner that fails on an August weekend can take down a server. Preventing in June costs a morning; improvising in August costs double.

The pre-holiday review checklist

• Backups. Check they run and, above all, that they can be restored. It is the worst time to discover a backup was failing.
• Support cover. Be clear on who to call in August if something fails, and that this person or company is available. Good managed support does not go on holiday.
• Cooling. Check the server room's air conditioning and that critical equipment can breathe. Heat is summer's silent breakdown.
• Remote access. If anyone will work from outside, make sure access is set up and secure, with two-factor.
• Updates. Leave systems up to date before you go, not half-done.
• Alerts. Make sure failure alerts reach someone who sees them, not an inbox no one checks until September.

September's classic mistake

The return from holiday brings its own batch of problems: machines switched off for a month, expired passwords, accumulated updates. Leaving IT buttoned up before summer also smooths the return. A system cared for in June is a calm September.

How we help

With managed support, this review is part of the job and cover is not interrupted in August. If you want, we do a pre-summer review to leave everything in order so you can really switch off. Tell us your case.

Frequently asked questions

What should I review in IT before the holidays?

Backups and their restore, support cover in August, server-room cooling, secure remote access, up-to-date updates and that failure alerts reach someone.

Why do systems fail more in summer?

Because fewer people are available to resolve incidents and there is more thermal stress on equipment from the heat. A cooling failure in August can take down a server.

Who provides support in August if my IT person is on holiday?

With managed support, cover does not depend on a single person and is not interrupted during holidays. It is worth making clear before summer who to alert if something fails.