Once you’ve got an established IT system in place, of course you want to keep it running as smoothly as possible. You might assume that the easiest and most sensible way to do that is by making little tweaks here and there to optimize your IT functions as needed. Unfortunately, these little do-it-yourself tricks can result in problems instead of improvements. Be careful about the potential pitfalls of the following “fixes.”

 Connecting fast components with slow cables - That fancy new hardware device won’t enhance your system if you hook it up to your network with just any old cable you have lying around. An old-school Ethernet cable, for instance, could limit your Gigabit (or faster) device to a much more sluggish 10/100MB speed.

 Adopting new software too early - Running the latest “nightly builds” or beta programs might keep you on the cutting edge. But that cutting edge can hurt you if the software still suffers from undiscovered bugs, compatibility problems or security holes.

 Using cheap components - That faster router or bigger hard drive won’t do your IT system much good if it fails after a few months due to cheap parts or poor construction. Remember that any faulty link in the network chain can bring the whole chain to a grinding halt.

 Messing up your network/server settings - Even the smallest tweaks to your network configuration or server settings can create horrible problems that leave you scrambling for solutions. Your well-intended streamlining or updating efforts could wipe out user accounts, or redirect heavy data traffic to systems meant for light traffic. Unless you’re absolutely certain of what you’re doing, this kind of work should be left to the pros.

Looking to make improvements will actually improve your IT performance? Contact the Austin business technical support experts at Gravity Systems!