“Audit time”
Don’t worry -- I’m speaking of a yearly
internal audit of your company’s assets that is
for your company’s good, not the tax
collector’s. Here is what to audit:
Backup procedures: System reliability has
gone up substantially in recent years but
hardware crashes still occur. Ask yourself, “If
I come in tomorrow and my hard drive is
broken or my computer is stolen, will I still be
able to work with the data I created today?”. If
you say ‘no’ to this question, you should
examine your data backup procedures.
Ideally, you should have at least two versions
of any data you create, whether it be on two
different hard disks (on separate systems), or a
copy on your hard disk and one tape or CD,
stored off-site.
Drawing management: Can you easily find a
drawing you created for a particular project a
year ago? If not, you should devise a drawing
management system, either by using a
Microsoft Access database, or a document
management program like Cyco’s
AutoManager Meridian.
Software licenses: Do you have the correct
number of Autodesk software licenses for the
number of systems that the software is loaded
on? Now is a good time to confirm that all of
your systems are fully legit. The potential
professional and criminal penalties are simply
too costly to not be 100% in compliance with
license agreements. Autodesk’s lawyers will
demand 1.5 times the suggested retail price of
any software licenses you are caught short.
Computer and software theft: In 1996 it
happened to us three times, but not since!
Make sure your computers are secured to
desks, and you have a good alarm system!
So start your internal audit today to protect
your company’s assets!