When managing your business, you need to ensure all the bases are covered—from human resources to cybersecurity. Also, in our digitalized world and economy, knowing when your network systems are in trouble is of the essence. You don’t want to have your systems hacked or your customers’ sensitive information leaked to the public.

However, wearing all the hats to make sure that the business remains running smoothly can be overwhelming, so here are some ways to make sure your business’s networking systems are working properly.

Hire a network engineer.

If it wasn’t already obvious, the first thing you should do is hire a professional who can tell you what you have to do to keep your systems running at their full capacity. You can hire an IT professional like a network engineer or system admin so they can take care of the networks and equipment in your office. Facing technical issues in the office can have many downfalls, but having an available IT support group can work miracles for your business.

Become a network engineer.

Another alternative if you have the time and interest is to become a network engineer yourself. You can do this by getting different networking certifications from entities like CompTIA or Cisco through IT schools like NextGen. NextGen offers courses to help you complete many of the certifications most organizations are requiring from their IT employees. They help you get the required knowledge to keep your network systems up and running and equip you with tools to help you strengthen any vulnerabilities in them.

Keep your systems updated.

Another thing you can do is to ensure your systems are up to date with the latest technology or software updates. If you have a cash register, for example, you can check out how to program a POS system so you can install more reliable hardware and software systems in your cashier terminals. A modern POS system will ensure your sales are properly tracked and your inventory stocked. Point of sales terminals can also help you save money and time when handling individual sales as well as making custom orders for your clients.

Implement a change control process.

As time goes by, you’ll notice a lot of changes happening in your office and projects. These include staff, equipment, manuals, milestones, and so on. For most of these things, you can establish a control process in which you can request or record a change in any process which will help everyone in your team stay on track of things. You can for instance make a request to change a project’s schedule by redefining your metrics and workflow.

Create a legend of status symbols.

There are many systems to keep up within the office, and some of these have symbols or messages that can help you identify when something is wrong. For instance, you can know when you have a paper jam in your printer because an icon turns on or the screen shows a message stating the error message. You can also implement this icon system in your office by making a legend of all the possible status alerts for your office equipment and printing it on a piece of paper for everyone to see as well as send your team members a copy via email or IM.

Establish security standards in your organization.

Lastly, you’ll want to ensure your networks are less prone to be infiltrated by hackers by ensuring your employees employ a standard set of rules when using work computers or equipment. This can be anything from not sharing their passwords to reporting phishing attempts.