Chip Reaves, national director of Australia-based Computer Troubleshooters, maintains that whether we are part of a small business, a multinational, or are just trying to find a recipe online at home, we spend just as much time fixing “issues” and “conflicts” on our computers as we do working on them. For the home user this is merely an inconvenience, but to a business it can add up to tens of thousands of dollars lost to decreased productivity or repairs. Although the mere thought of trying to “fix” a computer would cause a cold sweat to break out in most people, it is in fact the simple little things that even the most timid technophile could prevent, which cause the majority of desktop woes.
“Malware, viruses, identity theft and spyware account for approximately 80 percent of all computer issues resulting in downtime,” Reaves maintains. “It is estimated that the lost productivity cost due to these alone is around $50 billion, and the associated IT costs of dealing with it has skyrocketed from $20 billion to $198 billion in the last five years.”
That is a lot of money and a lot of work time lost. But Reaves explains that there are certain simple tips everyone could adhere to – businesses and individual computer users alike — that will keep computers (and wallets) in tip-top shape:
* Old Hardware — “Studies have shown that the likelihood of physical problems with computer equipment goes up significantly after 24 to 36 months,” says Reaves. “Consider replacing computer systems every three years — considering how inexpensive computers have become, one major repair bill could easily cost more than purchasing an entire new system.”
* Power Protection — “Surges and power drops can cause data loss and are always damaging to sensitive components, reducing their life span. Most people do…