As in any field, the field of information technology has its own specific slang. We all know that “byte” in the computer world, though a homophone for “bite”, has nothing to do with eating, and rather refers to a piece of digital information. But what about “footprint”? We hear a lot about reducing our carbon footprint for the environment, perhaps even reducing our footprint on social media, but what about your IT footprint? What does it refer to? Why do you want to reduce it? And most importantly: how can we help?
The world of IT can be a little scary for the average computer user, especially trying to learn a little lingo for yourself, but “IT footprint” is one of those magical terms that can be explained in extremely simple language. An IT footprint refers to the amount of space that a particular unit of hardware of software occupies. Now “space” is an ambiguous term, especially in reference to computing. In this case, space can mean either physical space, like the actual number of square inches your external hard drive takes up on your desk, or space on your computer, like the amount of memory that hardware or software might need to occupy in order to work.
So why does your IT footprint matter? And why can understanding yours help you or your business? Knowing your IT footprint is so important because it can help you measure your efficiency. To understand why, think about your iPhone. In recent years, Apple has made it easy for you to double-tap on your phone’s home screen and see all of the programs that you currently have running. If you notice that your phone is running a little slower than usual, it’s a good idea to check out those programs and see which ones are using the most data on your phone. Chances are, the Mail app will take up a ton of space, but that makes sense because email is very important and must store countless pieces of information. If something a little more frivolous, like say Candy Crush Saga, is taking up as much space as your Mail (assuming your priorities are more work-oriented), then you should try to reduce the space that Candy Crush is taking up in order for your Mail to run more smoothly. Expanding this to a macro-level: understanding and controlling your IT footprint means using your resources, both physical and mnemonic, in the most efficient way possible.
RHYNO Networks understands your IT footprint, how to shrink it, and how to make your business run as efficiently and productively as possible.
