As Singapore prepares for a three-phase reopening after Circuit Breaker measures to combat COVID-19, business owners are looking forward to reopening premises that have been dormant for about two months. Some businesses have had to close altogether during the shutdown, while others that had the ability to remain in operation through employees working from home remotely.
During those long weeks and months, technology that was locked in an office or building, was left unused for the most part. For equipment that was completely shut down, it was left to collect dust and hasn’t been having any regular IT management. The Circuit Breaker is expected to end on June 1st, with the first round of businesses being able to reopen on June 2nd. Business owners are preparing for their much-anticipated reopening as well as the new adjustments they need to make, which include:
- Maintaining a safe environment for customers and employees
- Continued use of telecommuting where possible
- Physical spacing between people of at least 1 metre
- Implementation of SafeEntry
Another important consideration is the technology that’s been dormant for about 8+ weeks. When electronics have been shut off and left unattended for that long, they can’t just be turned back on and expected to run as if no time had passed. New virus mitigation efforts are also required of businesses and will impact their technology. Small business owners need to be prepared so they don’t end up having their business shut down again.
Device Preparation for Reopening After a Long Shutdown
Some of the main concerns when it comes to your business technology and post-Circuit Breaker reopening include:
- Ensuring devices are properly serviced
- Checking cybersecurity measures to make sure your network is still protected
- Incorporating both onsite and off-site remote workers
- Distancing equipment used by workers or customers at least 1 metre
- Keeping equipment “touch surfaces” properly disinfected
If you don’t want to risk downtime due to equipment failure or a cybersecurity incident, here are the things to address prior to reopening your Singapore business.
Have Devices Properly Serviced
Before your onsite technology equipment is put back into operation, it should have a full servicing by an IT professional, like Managed IT Asia. Several things will be done during a small business IT service to ensure your electronics are ready to support you and that you won’t suffer an outage shortly after reopening. These include:
- Dusting: Dust inside a computer or server can cause overheating or a hard drive crash. A thorough dusting of all your technology will be done to remove the risk of problems once equipment is operational again.
- Check for Damage: As food dropped by humans has become scarce for rodents outside, many have gone looking inside buildings, this may mean some chewed wires or other damage. During your IT service, equipment and network cabling will be checked for damage.
- Service Parts: During an IT service, your hardware will also be checked for any problems, such as stuck fan motors. Any parts replacement needed will be done to ensure you don’t run into equipment problems.
Address Cybersecurity (Patches/updates, etc.)
When equipment is turned off and no one is there to apply security patches and updates, it means when you turn those devices back on, they’re at a big risk for a data breach. 60% of data breaches last year were due to unpatched system vulnerabilities. All devices, including computers, mobile devices, IoT equipment, router, etc., need to have any waiting updates applied. Another check of your cybersecurity includes ensuring connections to firewalls, backup and recovery systems, and antivirus/anti-malware programs are all still intact and working properly.
Can Your Infrastructure Accommodate Onsite and Remote Workers?
Businesses that are being allowed to reopen are still directed to have as many staff as possible work remotely from home. Now is the time to review your cloud infrastructure to ensure it can accommodate both onsite and remote workers as well as workers that might work both at the office and remotely. One technology you may want to look into is desktop virtualization, which makes it easy for a person to access their main workstation from anywhere.
Distancing of Technology Equipment
Customers and employees need to be distanced by at least 1 metre. This may mean that you need to rearrange how your technology is laid out. If you try doing this yourself, you could end up with a dangerous tangle of cables that are a safety problem, or you may end up with some devices losing a connection to your network. It’s smart to have a technology professional help you with moving your employee or customer-facing technology to ensure it’s both safely distanced and still operating effectively.
Properly Disinfecting Equipment “Touch Surfaces”
Keypads, keyboards, mobile touch screens, mice, point of sale (POS) devices… these are all examples of technology surfaces that are touched throughout the day. These surfaces need to be properly disinfected regularly to maintain a safe environment for customers and employees. You want to ensure these surfaces are disinfected with a solution of at least 70% isopropyl alcohol and that water and bleach aren’t used, which could harm electronics.
Schedule Your Reopening IT Service Today!
Prepare now for a safe reopening by having your technology properly serviced to ensure it’s ready to support you at full efficiency. Managed IT Asia can make that happen. Contact us today to schedule your reopening IT service. Call +65 6748 8776 or reach us online.
MANAGED IT ASIA, we are an IT Support, IT Solutioning and Managed IT Service Provider specializing in serving Small Businesses across Asia. Call us at +65 6748 8776 and let us manage your Small Business IT today!