The IT trends that actually matter for small businesses

Technology news moves fast, and most of it doesn't matter to a 20-person office. Here are the shifts that do, and what to actually do about each.

1. Phishing got a lot more convincing

AI writing tools mean scam emails no longer come with obvious typos and broken English. They're polished, personalized and timely. Phishing was already the FBI's #1 cybercrime complaint in 2024.

What to do: Don't rely on spotting bad grammar. Use email filtering, turn on two-step sign-in everywhere, and set a simple rule: any request to change payment details gets confirmed by phone, using a number you already have.

2. Passwords are on their way out

Two-step sign-in is now the baseline, and passkeys, which let you sign in with your phone or fingerprint instead of a password, are becoming common in business apps.

What to do: Make sure two-step sign-in covers every account, including shared and admin ones. Start using passkeys where your apps support them.

3. Staff are using AI tools, with or without a policy

Employees are pasting work into AI chat tools to save time. That's often great for productivity, but not when it's client data or anything confidential.

What to do: Write a short, plain-English AI policy: which tools are approved, and what never gets pasted into one.

4. Old computers are becoming a security problem

Microsoft ended support for Windows 10 on October 14, 2025. Computers still running it no longer get regular security fixes, and many older machines can't run Windows 11.

What to do: Take inventory. Plan replacements for machines that can't upgrade, rather than waiting for them to fail.

5. Cyber insurance is asking harder questions

Insurers increasingly ask about two-step sign-in, backups, endpoint protection and training before they'll quote or renew.

What to do: Pull out your last application and make sure every "yes" is actually true. A wrong answer can become a denied claim.

6. Everything lives in the cloud, and so do the risks

Email, files and business apps have moved to Microsoft 365, Google Workspace and similar services. That's convenient, but a stolen password now opens everything, from anywhere.

What to do: Treat your cloud accounts like the front door to your business: two-step sign-in, sign-in monitoring and backups of cloud data.

Want to know which of these apply to your office? Schedule a free consultation.

Sources: FBI IC3 2024 Internet Crime Report · Microsoft: Windows 10 end of support