Discovery Assessment (Are You in Control)

Not Sure What You Need? Take Our Discovery Check-list

Fill out this 15 question form to quickly evaluate the health of your company’s IT operations.

Management

1. Are your systems monitored 24/7 to detect events that could cause interruptions, downtime, and crashes? Does someone advise you when something is wrong?
2. A.) We have 100% monitoring and notification capabilities in place that are tested regularly B.) Some but not all of our critical devices and systems are monitored; we get notifications for some things, not all C.) We don’t pro-actively monitor our devices D.) Not sure / Does not apply
3. Are your systems current with all the latest security and functional updates?
4. A.) Yes, we regularly review then apply updates in a test environment first, then to all machines. B.) We apply patches only to major devices such as servers C.) We patch & update only when something goes wrong D.) Not sure / Does not apply
5. When a problem occurs, do you research causes and document resolution procedures carefully so as not to have it happen again?
6. A.) Yes, we update our knowledge base and adjust our practices to prevent and quickly remedy similar problems. B.) We make notes as best we can but don’t have a formal process for this. C.) No, we simply fix it and move onto the next issue. D.) Not sure / Does not apply
7. Do you know the monetary value of all your equipment and systems, as well as where and how each system element is used?
8. A.) We track all our assets including serial numbers, warranties and service histories. B.) We have a list of our assets in Microsoft Word or Excel format, which we manually update most of the time, but not all. C.) We don’t track anything. D.) Not sure / Does not apply

Productivity

1. Can you capture, store, and find all your data and documents quickly and easily using a digital document management system?
2. A.) We have a document/mail management system that includes digitizing, organizing and indexing. B.) Each department has basic guidelines yet no enforced company standard exists C.) We have no formal document strategy. Each user is responsible for filing and finding his or her own files. D.) Not sure / Does not apply
3. Are your users trained in the software they use to do their jobs?
4. A.) Yes, we know user training makes our employees more productive and capable. B.) We train our key staff on major programs and others learn from them. C.) We only use the basic features and don’t believe additional training will help D.) Not sure / Does not apply
5. Do you stay on top of system upgrades and updates so your network equipment consistently performs well?
6. A.) Yes, we perform regular performance tests and upgrade our infrastructure routinely. B.) We don’t upgrade until things start really slowing down. C.) We only replace things when they break down. D.) Not sure / Does not apply
7. Is your network scalable?
8. A.) Yes, our network can grow as our needs grow. B.) We keep an eye on things and when we see ourselves needing more, we get busy and add it. C.) Not really. We always struggle with having enough disk space and wish we had greater processing and storage capacity. D.) Not sure / Does not apply

Availability

1. Do you understand what would happen to your computers, data, and your operations if you lost electricity?
2. A.) YES, we have batteries on everything and they are tested regularly. B.) We maintain batteries on network devices such as servers. C.) We don’t have batteries anywhere and those that are there might not even be holding a charge. D.) Not sure / Does not apply
3. Do you secure and encrypt all data that leaves your network?
4. A.) YES, users are not permitted to take data off-site and if there is a need, it is encrypted. B.) When the information is critical, we manually encrypt the media. C.) We have no data encryption policy or systems in place. D.) Not sure / Does not apply
5. Do you understand all the possible threats that your data may be exposed to and proactively take steps to protect it?
6. A.) Yes, we keep up with all antivirus and malware programs and we monitor and secure all web and email traffic. B.) We’ve got a lot of our data covered by having anti-virus and junk mail filters. C.) We’re a small company and don’t believe we are at any major risk. D.) Not sure / Does not apply
7. Do you know how fast you could recover from a major disruption such as an emergency or disaster?
8. A.) Yes, we have a recovery plan in place for various events and outages, including power outages and equipment failures. B.) We have considered planning for this sort of thing and have a general idea of what to do. C.) There is no plan in place and we’ll figure it out as we go. We’re not even sure what’s possible. D.) Not sure / Does not apply

Portability

1. Do you often work from outside your office and depend on reliable and secure access to your systems?
2. A.) We have secure remote access to our entire office, all our files and data, and all our applications, which allows users to work from virtually anywhere. B.) We have some basic remote access tools, like checking email from outside the office, but we would like to have complete access. C.) We often struggle when remote users need access to files or email. D.) Not sure / Does not apply
3. Do you often find yourselves on the run accessing email in real time?
4. A.) Yes, we have secure portable devices and they all sync up to master databases. B.) We don’t need access to email that much and if necessary, we can get it. C.) We don’t have any capability to send/receive email when we’re out of the office. D.) Not sure / Does not apply
5. If you have multiple locations with different servers and data in each, can you access any of your servers and data from any one of your locations?
6. A.) YES, all our sites are interconnected and we can share everything. B.) Our sites are interconnected, however when a circuit is down somewhere, we lose functionality C.) We have some sites that are not connected at all. We wish they could be. D.) Not sure / Does not apply
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