Your IT Roadmap for 2024
Business environments have certainly changed over the last 2 years! It’s hard to know what steps to take to maximize communication with remote workers and to keep everyone safe and secure. To help give you some insight into 2022 IT decisions, we have pulled together the most meaningful statistics and trends from the Ziff-Davis “2024 State of IT” report to keep you informed and help you can plan for the coming year.
More companies are optimistic about this year. In 2020, only 35% of businesses were optimistic about their ability to be profitable in 2021. For 2024, 65% of businesses have a positive outlook. That means that businesses are willing to grow and expand, both in workforce and in capital investment. This is almost back at the pre-covid confidence level of 70%.
Companies will be spending more on IT in 2024. Many IT projects were neglected in 2021, and more confidence in the business market in 2022 will start those projects going and will lead to new ones.New services, like remote meeting software, email security, and managed security products are the big priority for 2024. The biggest expected investment? 24/7 Managed IT on all workstations and servers.
More employees are permanently working from home. Hybrid work is now expected and accepted, so it has become a part of daily work life. More people working from home means more vulnerable endpoints, not behind the protected company firewall. Recognizing this, companies are planning to spend more in 2024 to secure their workstations and company data. Key Products here are AI Spam filters, Backup for Cloud products like Office 365, and VPN / firewall usage.
Companies are concerned about supply shortages. Supply chain issues will continue and will prompt businesses to buy hardware and software as soon as possible to avoid delays on critical projects.
What do these findings mean for your business?
Your Customers Are Ready to Buy
Unlike 2021, where uncertainty stopped many businesses from investing in new equipment and technology, 2024 looks to be a year of expansion for most companies. Customer confidence is higher, and fears are less pronounced. Customers are ready to spend and you should be ready to server them.
#1 Priority: Invest in Security Services
The last year we saw a nearly 400% increase in ransomware attacks. With 86% of companies having been a victim of ransomware, experts agree that ransomware is the biggest threat to every company in the world. Add extra levels of antivirus and spam filtering. Have your business security tested with an Intrusion Test. Invest in the newest firewall technology.
In addition, users who connect to company resources from insecure locations add dangerous vulnerabilities to your threat landscape. Software and services on each computer will protect these endpoints from becoming gateways for hackers and viruses to reach your data.
Buy Equipment and Supplies as Early as Possible to avoid Supply Shortage Issues
With shipments taking twice as long to arrive, on average, order your inventory and technology items far before you anticipate needing them. For technology, this particularly applies to laptops, server, graphics cards and mobile devices like cell phones and tablets.
Our Prescription for Every Small Business IT Plan:
Based on compliance requirements and this year’s IT trends, my goal is to help EVERY business have each of these services in place. If you cover these bases, you will be in great shape to handle whatever 2024 throws at your computer and network infrastructure.
A REAL Hardware Firewall – If you are still using what your ISP put in as your router, you are not safe. A real firewall will actively stop attacks and alert you of threats as they come in.
A Trustworthy Antivirus Product / Software Firewall – For 15 years, we have trusted only one antivirus product. We can provide best in existence antivirus and software firewall protection. We can centrally manage all of your computers in one subscription.
Advanced AI Threat Protection for email – Since 99% of ransomware infections and phishing attempts come in through email attachments, an advanced AI-powered filtering system is your best defense against “bad actors.” This cloud-based system goes between the internet and your users to stop threats before they get into your inbox.
Two-Factor Authentication for all VPN Connections and Server Access – The new standard for secure connections requires two-factor authentication. We can add this to your current systems for only a few dollars per month. Most compliance standards no require this starting in 2024.
Monitor those Devices, 24/7 – We can be alerted 24 hours a day of hardware or system issues, or if a situation arises that could compromise your data security. 45% of companies have 24 hour maintenance and monitoring on their servers and workstations, and that number will increase this year.
A “Use-Anywhere” VPN Connection – Public VPN services allow users to connect securely to the internet from anywhere – vacation homes, hotels, coffee shops – and work with anonymity and security. Deploying a public VPN for remote or traveling employees dramatically increases your data security.
Intrusion-Test your Environment – Intrusion Testing reveals security vulnerabilities and allows for the mitigation of them. The report it provides can be kept on file as proof of “reasonable precautions” should you be breached.
If you are in the CLOUD, you still need to BACK IT UP – Office 365, Google Workspace and Dropbox are great, but if your data disappears from them, they do not guarantee the data can be restored. Use products like DropSuite and Backupify to back up your cloud data so you can rest easy.
Chances are, if we support you now, you have many of these services in place already. I’ll be reviewing current services for all of our clients, so look for a personal message from me in the coming days. Together we can be sure your organization meets this new standard for security and performance.
For 17 years, we have been Committed to Your Success 🙂
Available Technology provides all of the services mentioned above, including website design and digital marketing through our sister company, Available Design.
Contact us if we can answer any questions for you or if we can improve our service to you in any way. My sincere desire is that together we can make your business more profitable and more secure.
– Mike Lane
Available Technology Inc
1322 East Washington Street
Greenville, SC 29607
(864) 232-1234
