The Importance of Regular IT Infrastructure Audits

IT Infrastructure

The Importance of Regular IT Infrastructure Audits

We live in a fast-paced world regarding technological advancement. As new technologies emerge daily, your IT infrastructure becomes increasingly outdated, and your vulnerability to cybersecurity breaches increases.

What’s the best way to keep your infrastructure up-to-date and reduce inefficiencies and vulnerabilities?

Keep reading as we explore what an IT infrastructure audit is and how regular audits can benefit your business operations.

What Is An IT Infrastructure Audit?

An IT infrastructure audit is, in essence, a review of your current IT systems and whether they can be improved. The review will highlight inefficiencies, vulnerabilities, and outdated elements of your system that can be rectified by developing an IT infrastructure improvement plan.

Your IT infrastructure refers to the whole sum of digital operations, software, hardware, network, and security measures within your business, and all of these elements will be reviewed in the auditing process.

Here are some of the basic procedures and goals of an IT infrastructure evaluation:

  • Assessing hardware and software components – your IT auditing team will review the hardware and software you’re employing for your daily operations. They will assess the efficiency of your servers, networking equipment, data storage, and apps. If an opportunity to upgrade your components and make them more efficient is identified, this will be noted in the final audit review.
  • Security evaluation – cyber threats become more advanced with each passing day. The audit will identify whether there are any new threats that could pose a threat to your business. With knowledge of these threats, the auditor will note any loopholes or vulnerabilities present in your system.
  • Performance and capacity – businesses are always growing, and your auditor will assess the performance and capacity of your system to ensure it offers scalability aligned with future business growth plans and predictions.
  • Compliance check – industry regulations and guidelines are always adapting to new technologies, and your auditor will assess whether your current system aligns with any changes or alterations in regulatory legislation.
  • Documentation – the assessor will also perform an audit of your policies and processes for IT-related matters, ensuring that they are appropriate, compliant, and aligned with efficiency.

Your IT audit can be performed internally. However, you might consider using outsourced IT services for this process to reduce the burden of responsibility on your team, allowing business operations to resume as normal throughout the auditing process.

What Are The IT Infrastructure Audit Benefits?

Performing a comprehensive IT audit is a wise business practice that can expand the horizons of your business in many ways. Here are the IT infrastructure audit benefits you’ll gain by prioritizing regular network health assessments:

  • Mitigating risks – regular IT auditing helps you to spot potential issues before they progress into larger, costlier ones. For instance, spotting a cybersecurity vulnerability earlier on could prevent a data breach, which would lead to extensive legal fees and jeopardize client and stakeholder trust.
  • Improving performance – when you audit your IT systems, you can spot any redundant processes and inefficiencies that can be addressed to improve the efficiency of your business operations. For instance, you may spot lengthy manual data entry tasks that present the potential for automation.
  • Compliance – by ensuring you’re adhering to legislation and industry standards during your audit, you can gain compliance assurance. This assurance will increase the trust and high regard of your stakeholders, clients, and customers, who may be trusting you with their valuable data.
  • Cost savings – when you perform an audit and make improvements that improve productivity and efficiency, this presents the opportunity for significant cost savings due to improved output and better use of your employees’ time by reducing manual tasks.
  • Better insights for planning – taking stock of your current IT systems will provide more insight for future plans. You’ll be able to plan for upgrades or identify areas that need to be enhanced for more scalability in line with future business expansion.

The positive consequences of an IT infrastructure audit make it more than worth the time and effort taken to review your systems. By outsourcing the auditing process, you can also ensure that the process does not withdraw from employee working hours, and you can find competitive pricing that will ensure ROI.

Choose Tech Masters Inc. For Consistently Monitored IT Health

IT infrastructure auditing is a top consideration for any business operating with digital systems. It can improve your competitive advantage in the industry by creating cost savings, more efficiency, and reduced risk.

At Tech Masters Inc., we provide outsourced IT management, including regular auditing and monitoring of your systems’ performance. Choose us for consistently monitored IT health and the guarantee of long-term ROI.

FAQs

Let us answer some of the questions you may have after reading this article.

How Often Should You Perform IT Infrastructure Audits?

It is recommended that you perform IT audits at least twice a year. However, if significant new technologies, trends, or crises emerge, it may be advisable to perform an audit as soon as possible to adjust your infrastructure in line with these drastic changes.

What Should I Include In My IT Infrastructure Audit Checklist?

Your IT infrastructure auditing checklist should include cybersecurity, software, hardware, network, performance, compliance, and documentation reviews. You should review each individual facet of your infrastructure individually.

What Are The Two Types Of IT Auditing?

There are two main types of IT auditing: systems and applications auditing and information processing facility auditing. For applications auditing, you are checking that all applications and technologies within your business are secure and operating efficiently. For information processing auditing, you review your processes and documentation with regard to efficiency and relevancy, considering the climate and your business conditions.

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