The goal of IT and technology, in general, is to make life easier and less stressful. While it does often accomplish this goal, there’s no denying that technology also creates stress. How often have you wanted to throw your laptop across the room when it won’t load something or when a file vanishes into the void? How many hours have you spent on the phone with tech support trying to get access to a server or get your email restored? It’s frustrating and stressful, and it can impact everything from your job efficiency to your physical health.

While some stressful issues are fairly minor in the long run and are best handled by your tech support staff, other stress comes from issues that are more fundamental. That’s where working with a managed service provider such as Wooden Spoon will help. Our team can assist you with a variety of services, including network infrastructure, security, and cloud computing. While many MSPs focus on only technology, we take a different approach: we look at the people using it and base the technology on what they need. This helps us address your pain points, reducing the stress you and your team are under.

Where Does the Stress of IT Come From?

Stress always has a cause. In the case of IT, it often comes from technology not doing what you need it to do when you need it to. There are a few reasons for this: user error, system error, and outside error. We try to address all of these reasons to minimize the number of issues you face and get you back to work as soon as we can. Sometimes this means implementing a quick workaround so you don’t lose much time while we investigate the root of the problem, though there are some cases where that’s not possible.

User Errors

We’re all human, and we all occasionally make mistakes. When it comes to technology, sometimes, these mistakes lead to stress. Machines can often seem to be incapable of understanding us and unforgiving of mistakes, but there’s often a reason for this.

One issue you may have to reach out to tech support for is being locked out of your account. Entering the wrong password too many times can do this. It’s stressful when you have a client that needs a report right this very second and you’ve locked yourself out of the network. The client is yelling at you, you’re yelling at tech support, and everyone seems on the verge of a heart attack.

However, this type of stress actually shows that your security is working as it should. It’s hard to understand or appreciate that in the moment, but it means hackers can’t easily break into your network by continuing to guess passwords until they get it right. It’s a good thing. 

Wooden Spoon champions this and other security measures, but we also know that you need access to your information. We can work with you to use security measures such as two-factor authentication that are secure while relying less on passwords. This can help reduce stress.

Another accident that can lead to stress is losing data. A slip of the finger can result in files being deleted. While most people know they can go into the recycling bin and get those files back, what happens if the files were on a cloud server or if you delete something without realizing it? 

As soon as you discover that files are missing, we’ll go to your backups and try to restore as much of the lost data as possible. We’re a firm believer in regular, automated, off-site backups to a system that is secure while also being accessible when you need it. This way, even if your entire server is attacked by a virus or a natural disaster takes out your building, you have copies of your vital information that you can access from anywhere.

System Errors

There are some errors that are caused by incompatible technology and related issues. These system errors are often caused by basic issues that Wooden Spoon can help prevent by updating your technology infrastructure.

Compatibility issues occur when you use multiple pieces of hardware and software that were never meant to talk to each other. Sometimes, this incompatibility is due to age. You may have old applications that simply cannot run on today’s operating systems. Some hardware may no longer be supported by the manufacturer, which means there aren’t drivers for it that will work with new software. All of these issues can slow down your work or force you to use clunky workarounds. 

Wooden Spoon will evaluate your network and highlight areas where things aren’t fully compatible. We can help you upgrade or replace these parts so everything runs more smoothly. In cases where you have to use an old program or piece of hardware, we will do what we can to integrate it efficiently and securely. 

Another system error that can lead to stress is when hardware gives out. While hard drives, RAM, processors, and other pieces of hardware are designed to last for a good number of years, they will eventually wear out. This is especially true if you routinely run the system with a heavy load or don’t have it set up in the proper environment. For example, if your servers are stashed in a closet, it’s no surprise that they’re overheating. 

We will assist you with creating and maintaining a list of hardware that includes the date it was installed, what and when maintenance was done, and when you should begin looking for a replacement. By creating this proactive hardware maintenance list, you’ll be able to replace older equipment before it crashes. This allows you to control when that part of your network goes down and eliminates the stress that comes with unexpected hardware failure.

Outside Errors

Outside errors may well be the most stressful type of IT errors because they are outside of your control. While you can control your onsite equipment, and Wooden Spoon can provide support for your servers, SaaS applications, and more, there is an entire infrastructure outside of our partnership that you do rely on. 

This infrastructure includes your internet provider, the company that actually owns and maintains your cloud servers, the local electric company, and more. 

When the internet goes down, power goes out, or your servers crash, there’s not a lot you can do about it. We will work with you to create backup plans for as much as we can. You may want to work with a cloud provider that uses servers in multiple locations and backs up data to each. That way, if one location goes down, you can seamlessly switch to another. There aren’t easy solutions to dealing with a power outage, sadly, but there may be some workarounds. Retail locations can switch to cash-only purchases and hand-write receipts. It’s not efficient, but having such a plan in place will at least allow you to continue some business functions.

Wooden Spoon is Here to Help You Deal with the Stress of IT

When you partner with Wooden Spoon, you’re partnering with a team that wants to eliminate as much stress as possible from your life. This means when something goes wrong, our first priority is to do whatever we can to get your company up and running again. They say time is money, and when it’s taking hours to get your network back up and running, that translates into a lot of lost money. 

Our goal is to always find a way to get you back to work as soon as possible. This doesn’t always mean fixing the problem right away. We may recognize a problem is going to take hours or days to fix it. You can’t be without access to software or data for that long. It will stress you out even more, and we don’t want that. Even if we’re unable to restore your access to everything or all of your system’s functionality, we will do everything we can to allow you to at least operate on a reduced level. Then we will get to work on dealing with the technology that has failed.

What Does Wooden Spoon Provide?

We provide a wide range of managed or co-managed services, including IT planning and strategy, risk management, security, migration plans, performance monitoring, and more. Our goal is to eliminate as much IT stress as possible, no matter where it comes from. For some clients, that means optimizing their network, so that software runs quickly, and data can easily be retrieved. For others, it’s improving security to stop future cyber-attacks and creating a maintenance schedule to prevent unexpected downtime. 

Whether you need us to handle everything or want us to take on some areas of IT that you’re not comfortable dealing with in-house, we’re here for you. We’ll help reduce the stress of IT so you and your team can do what you do best while we handle the technology. Contact us today at 707-523-2222 to discuss how we can help you.