Capacity Planning: Balancing IT Resources for Efficiency 

capacity planning, Data Storage, IT Efficiency, IT optimization, Network, Ophtek, Servers, system upgrades, , , , , , ,
16
Jan 2024

The everchanging world of IT and business means that optimizing your resources has never been more important. But how do you do this effectively? 

Resource management is vital for maintaining IT operations, one small mistake and you could find your IT systems completely derailed. This means a drop in productivity, one which your competitors will be able to seize upon. But this doesn’t have to happen. Instead, you can prepare for all your potential needs and scenarios. This will ensure your organization can balance its resources and maintain a productive IT infrastructure. 

What is Capacity Planning? 

Naturally, you want your IT systems to be able to handle your existing workload, but it’s crucial they’re also optimized to deal with future demand. Accordingly, you need to be able to evaluate your current IT resources and confirm they’re suitable for your existing needs. After this, you need to forecast what your future needs are likely to be, and this can be achieved by identifying market trends or preparing for changes in demand e.g. winning new contracts. And this is exactly what capacity planning is. 

Which Resources Should You Be Looking At? 

The number of different IT resources in use at any one business are wide and varied. Nonetheless, when you’re working on a capacity planning strategy, it makes sense to concentrate on these areas first: 

  • Networks: with remote working becoming more popular, it’s important for your IT networks to be able to deal with multiple remote connections. After the lessons learned during the pandemic, where the technical demands of remote working were suddenly laid bare, organizations need to be ready. As a result, upgrading network infrastructures to deliver seamless connectivity to remote workers is paramount. 

Final Thoughts 

As the business landscape moves further into the 2020s, mastering capacity planning with IT resources should represent an essential target for all businesses. If you want your organization to achieve optimal performance and navigate the challenges of IT successfully, your capacity planning needs to start today. 

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals. 

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5 Things That Are Slowing Your PC Down

Best Practices, Data Security, Data Storage, disk cleanup, Hacking, IT Efficiency, Ophtek, PC Tips, PC Tools, Speed, , , ,
29
Sep 2020

We live in a high speed age which allows us to be more productive than ever, but if anything can throw a wrench in the works it’s a slow PC.

The experience of a slow and sluggish PC is one that everyone is familiar with. And dealing with this frustration never gets easier. In fact, a PC which regularly slows down can have a serious impact on your job productivity. The complexities of the inner workings of a PC mean that identifying the exact cause is difficult. But this doesn’t mean you need to continue struggling.
It’s possible, with relative ease, to employ a number of methods and practices that will help restore your PCs speed.

5 Steps Towards a Faster PC

If you want to start ramping your productivity back up then make sure you look at the following:

  1. Defragment Your Hard Drive: A PC is, essentially, a data storage device. But the data stored on a PC needs to be retrieved every time it’s required. And the more data you store on your PC the more uneven this data distribution is. The end result is fragmented data that becomes increasingly harder to piece together. Naturally, this means that processes take longer to complete. Performing a disk defragmentation will help to reorganize your data and can easily be achieved with the Microsoft Drive Optimizer app.
  2. Browser Add-Ons: Installing add-ons to your web browser can help to maximize your online productivity, but too many can start to slow down your browsing experience. It’s common, however, to install add-ons that soon fall into disuse and no longer serve any purpose. Therefore, if your speed issues are only apparent when you’re using your browser, it may be worth evaluating your active add-ons and disabling any you don’t need.
  3. Start-up Programs: When a PC loads up it will automatically load up a long list of programs that are listed in your System Configuration. The more programs that are listed in System Configuration then the longer your PC will take to load up. Many of these programs, though, are not necessary during the start-up process e.g. a messaging app that you don’t use regularly. To avoid a bloated start-up experience just head into MSConfig and check what’s included in your start-up.
  4. Hard Drive Space: Your hard drive may, for example, have a capacity of 500GB but it’s not recommended to fill it to breaking point. The operating system on your PC needs a certain amount of hard drive space to carry out essential tasks such as creating temporary files. And if this space isn’t available then your PC will struggle to operate correctly. Regularly evaluating what is on your PC and what can be removed is crucial to avoid this.
  5. Malware: Hackers are keen to take control of PCs through the use of resource-heavy malware. Depending on the nature of the malware, such as a DDoS attack, your PCs memory can soon become overloaded and grind to a halt. Accordingly, you need to maintain good security practices to prevent the impact of malware.

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

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Taking Care of your External Hard Drive

Backup, Backup Strategies, Data Storage, External Hard Drive, Ophtek, , ,
14
Jul 2020

We process and evaluate a huge amount of data every day, so external hard drives are vital for our storage needs. But how do we get the best out of them?

Capable of holding up to 12TB (that’s 12,000GB) and easily connected via USB, external hard drives are an affordable solution to data storage. However, when a device is holding so much data it’s important that you know how to use it properly. An external hard drive which is used correctly and maintained will keep your data safe for years. But one which is mismanaged can soon lead to a data disaster. And no business needs that.

Luckily, we’ve put together a few pointers on the best ways to use an external hard drive.

Getting the Best Out of Your External Hard Drive

Making sure that your device remains operational and productive is simple as long as you follow these best practices:

  • Don’t Move Your Drive When Transferring Data: Beneath their solid exterior, external hard drives are delicate pieces of kit. This is particularly true for Hard Disk Drives which contain spinning and moving parts. Therefore, moving or jostling your external drive when it is transferring data has the potential to not only damage the device, but also create data errors. Make sure that your device is properly connected, on a flat surface and not in the way of your general PC activities e.g. using the mouse and keyboard. 
  • Format Your Drive as NTFS: There are many reasons for formatting your external hard drive, but it’s important that you format your drive as NTFS. Using this method, as opposed to FAT32, is perfect when your device is mostly used with Windows PCs. NTFS formatting provides faster results and has the added bonus of making your drive less susceptible to disk failure. 
  • Run CHKDSK: Better known as Check Disk, CHKDSK is a handy system tool which should regularly be used to check the status of your external drive. It has the capacity to identity any file system errors and repair them. This gives you the dual benefits of a stable folder structure on your device and less chance of it crashing. 
  • Better to Repair than Replace: It can be frustrating when an external hard drive fails, but it’s often simpler to replace a troublesome device rather than repairing it. The labor, and associated costs, to repair an external hard drive will usually be more expensive than a replacement. And, as our next point will show, this shouldn’t compromise your data too much. 

If you can follow the advice above then you should be guaranteed a hassle-free experience with your external drive. And you can rest assured that your data will be safe and available at all times.

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

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Declutter Your PC to Work More Productively from Home

archive, ccleaner, Cloud Storage, Data Storage, disk cleanup, IT Efficiency, Ophtek, , , , ,
26
May 2020

Working on a home PC is very different to working on a workplace PC. But there’s one thing they both have in common: they get cluttered.

Over time, PCs tend to accumulate a lot of junk. This can be rather obvious such as a desktop packed full of shortcuts and files. Or it can less noticeable to the user as, for example, in the case of a registry riddled with redundant information. The end result, either way, is the same: it makes working on a PC difficult. Navigating your way around folders can become a nightmare and it’s likely that the speed of your PC will also be affected.

As the majority of us are working from home at the moment, it’s important that we declutter our PCs. It’s a move which will make working from home easier and help you remain productive.

The Best Ways to Declutter Your PC

It’s easy to declutter your PC and, best of all, you can start making changes in an instant. Make sure you carry out the following:

  • Cleanup Your Desktop: A desktop which is cluttered can make life very difficult. Quickly finding the file or shortcut that you need can soon become a tiresome exercise. And it’s likely that the majority of items on your desktop are not required e.g. shortcuts to deleted or barely used apps. However, you don’t need to put up with this. And you have two choices: delete unnecessary or relocate items into grouped folders e.g. “Q1 Projects” 
  • Use a Registry Cleaner: The Windows registry is a section of your PC which holds all the settings and values related to hardware and software on the machine. It’s an important database, but it can soon build up with junk e.g. invalid entries which are no longer relevant. And this can slow down your PC and cause numerous errors. Accordingly, you need to keep it clean and this can be achieved with a registry cleaner such as CCleaner. These apps clean up invalid registry entries and minimize the risk of system errors. 
  • Empty Your Recycle Bin: Your recycle bin can soon build up significant junk and this can put a strain on your hard drive. A hard drive that is packed full of data is going to struggle to perform to its maximum. This is why it’s crucial you regularly empty the recycle bin as it can hold huge amounts of data. Even better, make sure you set a limit to the maximum amount of junk it can hold. To do this just right click the recycle bin and go into the properties section where you can customize the maximum size that can be held. 
  • Archive Your Files: Your home PC is likely to be full of various documents, but if you haven’t accessed them in six months then it’s unlikely you regularly need them. However, this isn’t to say you will never need them, so deleting them would be an extreme move. Instead, you can identify older documents and archive them into appropriate folders and sub-folders e.g. “2019 > Utility Bills”

By putting just these four methods into practice you will find that using your home PC suddenly becomes much easier. And, as a result, you will become more productive and complete your work more effectively.

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

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Use the 3-2-1 Backup Method to Protect Your Data

Backup, Backup and Recovery, Backup Strategies, Data Backup, Data Storage, Ophtek, , , , ,
28
Jan 2020

Hardware can easily become compromised, stolen or damaged. And this can leave you without crucial data. But the 3-2-1 backup method is here to help.

Data disasters are most often caused by hardware failure, human error or cyber-attacks. Regardless of the cause, your organization needs a good backup strategy in place. You need to be able to retrieve your data in the event of an emergency. Without a backup strategy you will struggle to recover and this will have a major impact on your productivity. And that’s why the 3-2-1 backup method has proved to be so popular with businesses.

Data protection has never been more important that today, so we’re going to take a look at how the 3-2-1 backup method can protect your data.

What is the 3-2-1 Backup Method?

The principle behind the 3-2-1 backup method lies in its name:

Let’s take a closer look at each part of the method to help you understand the thinking behind it:

  • Keeping at Least 3 Copies of Your Data: To keep just one backup copy of your data is careless. Say, for example, your data is compromised by ransomware. An option would be to retrieve your backup data from an external hard drive. But what if you discover this device has been damaged in some way? You need an alternative solution. And this could be accessing a USB drive or connecting to a cloud storage solution. The minimum number of copies you should keep is three, but there’s no maximum. You can keep three, five or fifty. 
  • Keeping 2 of these Copies on Local Devices: Onsite backups are essential for keeping your productivity in place. Data disasters are unpredictable and can have an instant impact. Therefore, you need to make sure that you have your backup data close to hand. This approach will allow you to quickly implement any compromised data and establish normal working practices. Again, it’s important to have more than one local backup available to safeguard against any technical issues. 
  • Keeping at Least 1 Copy Offsite: If you want to reap the benefits of a complete backup strategy you need to keep one copy offsite. Advances in cloud computing mean that it’s easier than ever to store data offsite. And this can pay dividends in the case of a local disaster. If, for example, you are hit by a hurricane or a flood, all your local backups could be damaged. It doesn’t matter if you’ve got three or three hundred. But if you keep at least one copy in the cloud you are ensuring comprehensive data protection is in place. 

Final Thoughts 

A good backup strategy is vital in protecting your data in the event of a data disaster. And it pays to be comprehensive in the manner in which you protect your data. The 3-2-1 backup method is the perfect way in which to achieve this.

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

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