When starting business, it is essential to make sure you have the right equipment. There is a wide variety of IT, mobile, printing and infrastructure equipment available and it pays to make sure you select the right tools for your business size and budget range. Make sure that the equipment you buy is suitable for a business network environment. Not all equipment suitable for home use will run on a business network.

Telephone: You will use for communicating with customers and vendors. Understanding what services, features and options are available will help purchase the right size phone system for the right price for your business.

Connectivity/ Internet access: Small businesses can usually start off using a consumer-level router. But if you require more functionality or security, consider a VPN router, firewall or a UTM gateway. Consider the hardware each ISP (Internet Service Providers) provides. Some services provide a basic modem, while others may give you a gateway that includes a router with Ethernet ports, firewall protection, or even a built-in WiFi router.

Computers & Software: What it is for, and how it is to be used in support of the business. You need to know what sort of technology you need to have, what it needs to be compatible with, and what you might need in the future. It’s important to have a common operating system (e.g. Windows 10, Mac OS X, Linux) on all computers to make maintenance easier.

Monitors: If you choose to purchase desktops you will need monitors, in some cases even the laptop users might want a monitor to work in the office. There are also professions that requires two or more monitors being driven from one machine e.g. graphic design, architecture, communications, accounting, engineering and video editing.

Multifunction Printers / MFPs (also known as all-in-ones): Continue to decline in price while improving in features. We highly recommend MFPs for SMEs, it can help you save space, reduce energy costs, and improve productivity by integrating the traditional office duties of printing, faxing, scanning, and copying into a single device.

Warranty: Make sure that new equipment has an appropriate warranty, extended warranties can reduce the impact on your business if equipment does break or get damaged unexpectedly. Some brands offer free extended warranty for selected products. contact our sales team on (01) 460 6038 for further information.

Antivirus Security Software: A computer system that has a connection with the Internet or has contact with the rest of the world in some other way needs a virus scanner. The effects of viruses vary from a harmless joke to slowing down your computer, the deleting or corrupting of data, sharing your sensitive data with the rest of the world or granting hackers access to your computer. It’s important to make sure you always have a working virus scanner with the latest virus definitions installed on your computer and preferably also the latest version of your operating system of choice.

Here are some questions to help you determine the IT equipment that best suit your small or midsize business or organization:

• How many people will work in your office?
• How many users will be office based?
• How many will need portability/ mobility? How many of your employees will need a mobile workstation?
• How many users will need a mixture?
• What type of computer accessories will your team need? E.g. mouse, keyboards, headphones, cables, carry case, external hard drives, USB sticks, etc.
• Will any users need specialised devices? e.g. High end workstations, high-resolution displays, etc. 
• What application software will be required to run your business? E.g. Office applications, accounting software, CRM/marketing software, graphic design software, video software, etc.
• Which Operating System software do you need for your business? E.g. Windows, Macintosh, mixture of both?
• How many users will be requiring print capabilities? Any mobile printing needed?
• Will there be any specialist print needs? e.g. Tech drawing, marketing materials, presentations, etc.

If you plan carefully you will be able to control your office equipment expenditures by only buying the essential equipment you really need. We hope you find this article useful. If you need any help to choose the right IT equipment for your needs, don’t hesitate to contact us via sales@eurieka.ie or (01) 460 6038. We would love to help!