Your IT infrastructure is your organization's backbone, making your business function without hiccups. With time, your IT infrastructure starts aging, and you can witness it through system downtime. Ignoring this sign can lead your business to heavy losses.
Businesses face recurring IT issues due to their aging IT infrastructure, reducing productivity and inefficiency. Hiring IT support in Carlsbad, California, can help. They can provide a robust audit of your IT infrastructure. This will explore the following aspects:
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What Is an IT Infrastructure Audit?
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The Importance of Regular IT Infrastructure Audits
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IT infrastructure audit checklist
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How do you improve your company's IT infrastructure?
Keep reading if you want to learn how to enhance business with Cybersecurity Services Carlsbad and performance by conducting an infrastructure audit.
What Is An IT Infrastructure Audit?
IT infrastructure audit is a process that checks the health of the system. It includes examining various infrastructure components to test their efficiency and reliability. This audit evaluates hardware and software, servers, storage, cloud, and networking devices. It also helps organizations understand the strengths and weaknesses of their IT systems, allowing them to make better decisions.
In the technology-driven world, regular infrastructure audits are necessary. Businesses rely on IT and network infrastructure to support workflow, foster collaboration, and store vital data. Any negligence can cause havoc in the system, leading to compromised data and heavy financial loss.
What Is The Importance Of IT Infrastructure Audit?
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Identifying Bottlenecks And Room For Improvement
Auditing the organization's infrastructure can help find functions that are outdated or no longer useful. For instance, software has become too obsolete to generate output for the competition. Another example is a device that breaks down during an important task.
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Enhance Infrastructure Security
IT audits can identify vulnerabilities in network security, enabling businesses to frame prevention strategies before a problem becomes a significant loss. This audit report reveals the level of security implemented in the infrastructure devices that need a double layer of protection. Combining the known threats and the audit reports, companies can frame a strategy that strengthens their security posture.
Our IT support Carlsbad experts help here. When you work with Fusion Factor, we perform a thorough IT infrastructure audit. This allows us to find weak spots and create a plan to improve network security.
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Cost-Effective
Businesses can save tons of money by identifying overhead resources through infrastructure audits. For instance, a new project may require a dedicated server, which can be expensive. A professional audit can suggest shifting vital data to the cloud, freeing up space for the new project.
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Compliance
Businesses can audit IT infrastructure to ensure their systems adhere to industry regulations. If they don't, an infrastructure audit can find the problem and help take the proper steps to avoid penalties later.
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Strategic Alignment
Business leaders make investments while considering business goals. If an investment does not resonate with those goals, it can be identified through an infrastructure audit. Accordingly, strategic planning can be made to get the most out of the investments.
A Must-Have IT Infrastructure Audit Checklist
A good checklist covers all the vital aspects that must be addressed while conducting an audit. While conducting an IT infrastructure audit for a business, make sure to follow the below checklist:
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Hardware
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Identify and document all the hardware, such as servers, computers, hard drives, and routers.
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Check their life span and their working condition.
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Ensure all the hardware agreements are documented and covered under warranty.
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Software
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Make a list of all the software in use and note their versions.
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Check if the software has the proper license and complies with industry regulations.
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Identify outdated software that is no longer in use.
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Network Infrastructure
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Check and document the network's physical and logical arrangements and their segmentation.
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Look for outdated, redundant network equipment.
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Ensure proper security strategies are implemented to protect the network from unwanted intrusion. For instance, look if robust firewalls and VLANs are implemented.
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Check that the network bandwidth and latency are up to par.
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Data Backup and Recovery
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Ensure the company has proper disaster recovery and backup solutions in place.
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Confirm vital data are stored safely to avoid unexpected data loss. Moreover, the frequency of data backup should also be looked at.
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Check if the backup process is encrypted and safe.
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Security Measures
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Check if antivirus software and intrusion detection devices are up to date and have proper licenses.
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Verify all the systems follow the patch management procedure. Look for unpatched systems.
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Ensure the devices are double-layer protected using multifactor authentication.
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Ensure emails and other communication channels that have sensitive data are encrypted.
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Data Center Monitoring
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Inspect generator, UPS, and power supply units.
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Ensure the cooling systems are adequately performing and keeping the system safe.
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Verify if the data center has a good environment.
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IT Support and Maintenance
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Check the effectiveness of the current IT service provider and verify the SLA agreements.
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Ensure that the IT Support processes are effective and produce good ROI.
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Check the ticket resolution time and help desk performance.
Note: If your IT service provider cannot provide solutions that meet your business goals. It's time to look for reliable IT support in Carlsbad, California, such as Fusion Factor, which provides robust IT solutions that meet your business requirements.
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Cloud Services
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Verify cloud services, compliance requirements, and contracts are adequately implemented.
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Look for vulnerable gaps in the cloud applications and ways to mitigate them.
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Check if the cloud applications are adequately integrated into IT systems to ensure business continuity.
Step-By-Step Guide To Conduct IT Infrastructure Audit
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Define the Scope Of Audit
Strategically plan the audit, note who will audit, and designate the auditor, providing the time frame for the audit. Identify which aspects of infrastructure will be audited, such as devices, computer systems, networks, security, and more.
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Collect All the Documents Needed
Gather all the documents needed for the IT infrastructure audit, such as the objective, scope, checklist, compliance record, disaster recovery plans, and software licenses.
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Conducting Audit
Depending on the business's requirements, this stage can be complex or straightforward. Infrastructure auditing can include inventorying, analyzing, identifying vulnerable gaps, and providing risk assessments.
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Audit Reporting
The audit report must produce findings that might help the organization enhance its business process. These audit reports are presented to stakeholders and enterprise leaders to promote better decision-making.
How Do You Improve Your Company's IT Infrastructure?
An infrastructure audit can improve your business's IT infrastructure by identifying obsolete devices and systems and replacing them with modern yet efficient ones. This step eliminates company overhead by identifying the ones that no longer serve their purpose. It also ensures your infrastructure is secure from malicious threats and data loss. Moreover, it helps businesses adhere to industry regulations, avoiding penalties in the future.
Wrap Up!!
Is your IT infrastructure safe and sound to drive your business to success? Do your business face hiccups while doing the most strategic work? Is downtime a common issue that you face in your day-to-day work? Did you ever feel your infrastructure is aging?
If your answer is yes or you resonate with the above question, it is time for your business to have an IT infrastructure audit done. At Fusion Factor, we conduct a comprehensive infrastructure audit to identify gaps and provide an all-emphasizing solution that fits your business requirements. Our IT Support Carlsbad experts are available 24/7 to solve your IT needs quickly.
Don't wait! Get your Free Network Assessment done today! Contact us to learn more about our services.
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