You’re excited. You’re ready to deck out your offices with new smart gadgets that will not only be fun, but will also boost your and your employees’ productivity. What’s more, you’re finally going to show your staff just how cool and tech savvy you are, even though you still wear Hawaiian shirts to the office on casual Friday. But what if your plan backfires? What if your exciting office gadgets end up making you look like an amateur? Well then it’s best to avoid some of these rookie blunders below.

I am totally going to impress my staff today.

Mistakes made before implementation

When it comes to finding the right smart gadgets, half the battle happens before purchase. Choose the wrong device and you run the risk of having useless tech that breaks within its first year. So be mindful of the two potential pitfalls below.

Being a Cheapskate

The smart gadget market has become flooded with cheap devices, and as such, you may be tempted to go straight for the bargain bin. But that would be a mistake. Cheap smart gadgets are often lacking security features and user support, which means your shiny new devices are susceptible to hardware issues, malware attacks, and other security threats.

To avoid this, do your research on a product before purchasing and ensure its longevity and security.

Gadgets that don’t align with business goals

Sweet new smart gadgets may score you office cred with employees, but how does their implementation align with your business goals? If your goal is to create a more productive work environment, a complex device with fancy bells and whistles will probably fall short.

That’s why it’s important to evaluate your goals. Do you want to automate processes, lower costs or gather more data? Will these devices bring more value to your clients? Knowing your ultimate business goal before you purchase a smart device can provide your company greater success in the long run.

Mistakes made after implementation

You’ve made your purchases; now it’s time to be smart about how you implement them. That begins with this first crucial step.

Security is a top priority

Just because you installed your new smart gadget doesn’t mean it’s automatically secure. Internet-connected devices are incredibly vulnerable to attack, especially if you leave them to their default passwords and usernames. Be smart and configure your gadgets properly. And don’t forget to update your devices regularly with the latest patches and operating system.

Intelligent staff policies to match your smart devices

Now that you’ve thoroughly impressed your entire staff with new iPads, they’ll probably want to take them home, so make sure to set appropriate policies. Company rules about these issues will protect your business’s valuable data and network. Also, consulting your IT team about any new smart devices is a wise choice, as this will ensure they’re equipped to manage the additional technology.

Internet outage backup plan

It’s an emergency when the internet goes down, and when this happens, usually the functionality of your smart devices goes, too.

When smart devices lack offline functionality during an internet outage, employee downtime celebration ensues.

Check if your gadgets can temporarily store data locally when they’re offline. If they can, costly downtime can be avoided, as the devices will typically sync when the internet is restored. Also, you may want to consider implementing backup, redundancies, and failover measures to prevent data loss during an internet outage.

Whether they’re cool or not, smart gadgets are an unstoppable force that will eventually become staples in the workplace. Installing them sooner rather than later can pay dividends for your business in the long run. Just be sure you go about implementation the right way.

If you ever have questions or need help with any of your IT solutions, don’t be a stranger. We promise the increased productivity, profits, and business growth our technology solutions provide are way cooler than any smart speaker system. Contact us today.

Red Key is a leading Managed IT firm that is bringing AI to companies in New York City, Westchester County, Fairfield County Connecticut, California & beyond.