How to Store Technology During Employee Turnover

two computer monitors sitting on top of a wooden desk

Even in small companies, turnover can be a frequent issue and any laptops or tablets you provide for employee use can go days or weeks in between owners. Developing a standard procedure to store technology doesn’t only help keep them secure; it helps keep them in good condition physically.

What steps should you take when storing the devices?

  • Store them on racks or shelves that allow for ventilation. Even if the devices aren’t in use, you don’t want to crowd them together. Some devices may be accidentally stored in sleep mode and continue to generate heat. Ventilation also helps prevent a build-up of moisture in or around the device: it’s impossible to completely dehumidify the air, but ventilation will certainly help.
  • Keep the closet or storage room insulated. This may be tricky to do if you’re renting office space, but even placing an insulation blanket over a cabinet full of laptops and tablets can help regulate the temperature. Rapid temperature fluctuations are dangerous for technology, and the temperature shifts between an increasingly chilly office at night and the heater coming on in the morning can damage your devices.
  • Let your IT service know. If your IT service company is handling your company’s licenses, they need to know to change access, switch over licenses, and deactivate accounts. They can also do a sweep of the device’s files to make sure no unusual activity occurred during a former employee’s last few days of work.

More and more companies are providing work devices for their employees, and if your company chooses to invest in that hardware it’s important to make sure it stays well-protected and functional for as many years as possible. Go to Bluewater Technologies to see what we can do to keep all of your technology safe.

NAS vs. Cloud Storage

a silver computer with four disk drives attached to it

Odds are your business has LOTS of files and data that it shares with everyone in the company. Some firms use cloud storage products like Dropbox or Google Drive to store and share those files. Others have their own “in-house” storage option called a NAS or Network Attached Storage. A NAS is a dedicated space that receives, stores, and sends data over a network. Basically, it is a personal cloud for your business.

Please review the pros and cons of a NAS and cloud services so you can make the right choice for your business needs.

NAS

With a NAS you have complete control and ownership of your data. No corporate giant has anything to do with your data or risks your privacy. A NAS solution is infinitely scalable. This means you can add additional storage at your own terms. With a NAS you have complete control of your data and how it is stored, backed up, retrieved and deleted. This can be daunting as it does get technical and one wrong move can put your data at risk. So it may be best to hire an IT professional.

Cloud Storage

Cloud storage is hosted offsite. Your data remains untouched, regardless of what happens to your physical location. Cloud storage for businesses can get pricey. Subscription services are available, but increasing your storage capacity usually requires paying more. Cloud storage is easy. Nearly anyone can create an account and manage permissions and accounts for employees.

Your data is relatively safe in the cloud as hosting companies do a great job of backing up data and using redundant storage. Although this rarely happens, cloud storage services are a high-value target for hackers and your information could be at risk.

Ready to migrate your data to the cloud? Or just want to upgrade your existing solutions? Need a dedicated IT department to service all your tech needs?

Contact us to see how we can help.