Hardware monitoring can enable you to view the overall health of your systems, and their individual components. You can look for these yourself within your system, such as with Windows Health Check, or instead use hardware monitoring software to do the work for you.
What is classed as hardware?
There are two different types of hardware that may be used within your business systems: internal and external.
External hardware encompasses all the parts that you may see or physically touch, such as:
- Monitors
- Keyboards
- Printers
- Scanners
- Computer towers as a whole
The internal hardware includes all the items found inside those components, especially a computer tower or laptop, such as:
- Motherboards
- Hard drives
- RAM
- Graphics Cards
- Sound Cards
While you may not physically touch the internal components, their welfare is crucial for you to be able to use the devices within your business. This is where hardware monitoring comes into play.
Identify problems
Any number of problems could prevent your hardware from working as it should. Implementing hardware monitoring into your business could help to flag up issues as soon as they arise, enabling you to put a solution in place much sooner.
Hardware monitoring systems will allow you to see the temperature of your hardware. Any overheating could deteriorate them at a greater speed, meaning you should consider adding additional fans or other cooling systems. A good system should notify you when temperatures get too high.
Any changes in electrical current should also be detailed in your hardware monitoring. This could allow you to pinpoint which device is having problems. This may signify a problem with connections, or even that a particular device may need a new charging cable.
Failing hard drives can be a big problem, especially if you store key data on them. Having cloud backups can protect your data, but it is worth keeping an eye on so that you can implement repairs or replacement.
Minimise downtime
Device problems may leave them out of action for a significant period. This can greatly affect your business, especially if several devices become problematic at once. Downtime can prevent you from being able to liaise with clients or colleagues, and even bring profits to a grinding halt.
Hardware monitoring can help you to notice changes in your hardware’s functionality and performance before it becomes a big issue. This can allow you to respond quickly to any abnormalities and still carry on with your work.
To rectify problems, you could then speak to your IT support provider, who can help you rectify any problems caused by misuse, or help you get that specific piece of hardware repaired.
Increase and optimise performance with hardware monitoring
The performance of your business devices could greatly change how well you are able to use them and how quickly tasks can be completed. Using hardware monitoring can help to keep your internal and external hardware in top working condition. This can allow you to avoid lag and slower speeds which could put you behind your competitors.
It is here that you can also figure out which of your hardware could do with improvement. Adjustments to your devices, including optimising system settings, could make quite the difference in how they run.
Use hardware monitoring to plan for upgrades and purchases
Hardware monitoring doesn’t exist to keep your current systems running forever. It can also be used to pinpoint when you should replace your devices or their internal components for newer or more advanced items.
You may want to take note of when feature updates will end for your device, especially if it cannot be upgraded to the latest standard. This can give you adequate time to prepare and budget for a new product. Having a strong IT strategy in place can be crucial for succeeding here. Remember, as well, that you may want there to be some overlap between your old and new hardware to avoid unnecessary downtime.
More on hardware monitoring and looking after your devices
Hardware monitoring is an important responsibility to remember when you run a business. This can make a big difference to both your update and device sustainability. Opting for IT support can help to look after your systems as much as possible.
However, if issues do occur, it can be useful to know that that same provider may also be able to repair or replace systems. Syn-Star offers IT support, strategy, and repairs to help keep your business up and running.
