I . T .
Committed - Bondgate IT ’ s client success managers Lexi Tibbitt and Andy Dalton . PICTURE : CHRIS BOOTH
RISK PREVENTION
IS THE BEST CURE
WORDS : PHILIP TALLENTIRE
Bondgate IT urges businesses to safeguard their computer systems
IT is an essential part of almost every business in the modern era . Businesses cannot afford to overlook the possible risk of a systems failure or security breach . That ’ s why Bondgate IT offers a solution . The Darlington-based specialist encourages businesses to assess their risk profile and prepare a strategy to handle any arising issues .
Bondgate IT client success manager Andy Dalton believes the company ’ s strategy is perfect for businesses that want to keep their computer systems safe . “ We ’ re an IT support company and managed service provider and , basically , we fix broken computers ,” he says .
“ But , in the way we handle IT support , we think we ’ re different from our rivals . “ Every IT company out there will fix broken things - the way we do things is we look at the whole company and we assess their risk profile .
“ For example , we will look at a company and do a technology risk evaluation , which is really a 350-point health check that will spot any IT risks to that business .”
The IT systems health check covers several factors , such as a security standpoint , hardware durability , internet connection and phone system . “ We audit anything IT-related ,” goes on Andy .
“ We then show the customer any risks that we have identified . We have a standardised audit and a pass-rate benchmark of 85 per cent . There are not many new customers that we bring on board that are up to that standard .
“ But what we can do once we ’ ve spotted what the risks are to that business is put a plan in place to avoid those risks . We can put a plan in place to avoid a potential systems breakdown and resulting business interruption .”
A business may not always understand what risks it faces from an IT point of view . Without knowing what those risks are , it ’ s impossible to mitigate against them .
In simple terms , Bondgate IT will give a firm ’ s computers the equivalent of an MOT check , then prioritise any issues that have been identified and work with the client to resolve the issues within an achievable timeframe . In an ideal world , all issues would be resolved immediately , but businesses are often constrained by tight budgets and must prioritise which issues need to be fixed straight away and which can be scheduled to be completed later .
“ Our IT contracts are usually for three years ,” explains Andy . “ We roadmap it for three years because , though we ’ ll highlight a lot of risks , we work out what the high risks
68 | Tees Business