Summary: Three to five years is a practical replacement range for many business computers. The right time depends on security support, reliability, performance, warranty coverage, repair costs, and the employee’s work. Replace any computer that cannot run a supported operating system or the software your business requires. Most business computers do not fail all at once. A laptop may still handle email and documents but take longer to start, struggle during video calls, or run out of battery halfway through the day. For many office computers, three to five years is a sensible replacement range. Start reviewing each device when…

Summary: Your IT budget should include the technology you already use, the support required to maintain it, and the upgrades you expect to make during the year. It should also cover cybersecurity, backups, employee changes, planned projects, and a reserve for urgent repairs or replacements. If your IT budget only covers computers, Microsoft 365, and the occasional repair, it is probably missing several costs. Your business may also be paying for software subscriptions, cloud storage, backups, security tools, internet services, phone systems, websites, network equipment, staff training, and outside IT support. Some of those costs appear every month. Others arrive…

Summary: Guest Wi-Fi should provide internet access while blocking connections to your internal business network. A different Wi-Fi name and password do not confirm that the networks are separated. The router, access points, and firewall must also be configured to prevent guest devices from reaching internal systems. Offering Wi-Fi to customers, contractors, and visitors is convenient. But their phones and laptops should not connect to the same network as your business computers, printers, security cameras, servers, and file storage. Even when you trust the person, you do not control their device. You do not know whether it has current security…

Summary: Allow personal devices only for approved work, through approved apps, and when the device meets your security requirements. Use company-owned devices for administration, sensitive work, or jobs that require large amounts of data to be stored locally. Employees often use personal devices for work before the business has made a decision about it. They add work email to a phone, download a file to a home laptop, or sign into a company app from a computer shared with family. Once business data is stored on a personal device, you have less control over updates, installed apps, backups, and who…

Summary: Employees should use standard accounts for email, web browsing, and everyday work. Administrator access should be limited to approved IT tasks and protected with a separate account. Administrator access often starts with one request. An employee needs to install a printer, update a specialist program, or change a setting on their computer. Giving them administrator access gets the job done. The problem is that the access usually stays after the request has been completed. From then on, the employee can approve other software installations and make changes that would normally require help from IT. If they install the wrong…