Look, I get it. While running a business, department, or team, sometimes the last thing you want to see is more reporting. However, very few things in business are more important than the PPT Framework: People, Processes, and Technology. Yet technology can sometimes be the black sheet of the three.
IT Reporting in the past was cumbersome, long, and honestly, not that helpful. However, we’ve come a long way from those 20-page reports of technical jargon!
Receiving monthly IT reports is an important aspect of your business. Having a dashboard or snapshot of the most important components of your technology will make sure you are more informed on what your IT Provider or team is doing for your organization.
So, starter question: Are you being sent any IT reports currently?
If yes, great! Read on and learn about what reports should be included.
If not, it might be time to express interest to your IT Provider that you’ve had a change of heart and you would like to start seeing those reports again.
Report #1 Hardware Inventory
It’s important to know what managed devices (Computers, laptops, servers, switches, access points, etc.) you currently have at our organization. In addition, understanding their age, warranty status, and replacement timeline will help you budget and keep your organization healthy. A good hardware inventory allows you to see if there are computers not currently included in reporting that should be added.
Report #2 Data Backup
You know what backups are. You don’t have to be technical to get a monthly confirmation that your backups that month were successful. They should be simple: green or red?
Report #3 Security Report
You know what patching and security updates are. You need to know whether this is happening on a consistent basis. Any missing patches?
If so, why is it missing, and how can we get caught up as soon as possible?
Report #4 Current Tickets
You just submitted a new support ticket. What next? Getting status updates and reports of progress are important. No technical information required.
Bonus Points
Best in class IT providers will also be able to provide that reporting via live dashboard. This allows a user to look at any time to get peace of mind that their backups are running, and tickets are getting attended to. Extra bonus points if your account manager reviews them with you quarterly.
Final Thoughts
Of course, there are many other reports that can be helpful, but there is always the fine line of “alert fatigue.” Receiving too much could easily turn into tuning it out. With these 4 snapshots, it should only take a few minutes a month to review and receive a recap that your IT is being taken care of. It could also provide helpful insight into whether your IT Provider is doing the things they need to be doing to keep your business healthy.
If you need help with what type of reporting to request or have any questions at all, please reach out: we’re happy to help!
