5 Common IT Challenges Faced by Small Businesses
Running and maintaining an efficient small business is a lot of work. Part of that work is overcoming IT challenges that could cripple any organization if not properly secured or stunt its growth if not implemented correctly.
Unfortunately, IT often gets overlooked by small business decision-makers because it isn’t seen as a direct correlation to success. On the contrary, small businesses need proactive solutions to grow and set themselves apart from their competitors.
Here are five of the most common IT challenges faced by small businesses.
Security
Every organization not only has a different appetite for risk but also has different needs when it comes to security.
Small businesses don’t need the expensive security tools that a large corporation might utilize, but attackers often target small businesses because they don’t invest in security tools that bigger companies do.
That’s not to say small businesses don’t need to implement any cybersecurity practices or tools, just that there are several factors (size of business, the industry they serve, reliance on uptime, etc.) that will determine how much security is needed.
There’s an inherent challenge of spending enough without spending too much. It’s easy to overspend or underspend on security if IT is not properly aligned with an organization’s business goals.
Phishing Training
While implementing security tools is part of cybersecurity, many small businesses don’t implement phishing training, whether they think it’s too costly or too time consuming.
Additionally, phishing training is not a one-time thing. It requires ongoing training and education in best practices as technology is constantly changing.
According to Cisco Talos, a cybersecurity and information security firm, phishing attacks increased by 50% in the first quarter of 2025, an increase from less than 10% the previous quarter.
An organization is only as secure as its weakest employee, and attackers exploit those employees to steal data or distribute malware that can cripple any organization.
“From security to scalability, these challenges demand attention so small businesses can safeguard their data, empower their team adapt to change.”
Lifecycle Planning
Every piece of IT equipment you have has a lifespan, generally anywhere from three to 10 years. Unfortunately, technology doesn’t last forever.
Many small businesses don’t track the lifespan of their IT assets and probably will encounter emergencies as servers, switches or workstations break down.
Emergency costs are always higher than proactive costs, and that’s where lifecycle planning comes in.
It allows a managed service provider to show you the average lifespan of each device you own and when they recommend replacing it. This will help small businesses plan so they aren’t surprised by unexpected costs.
Scalability
As a small business grows, their IT needs also will grow. Unfortunately, those growing IT needs oftentimes are not a priority.
A small business of 10 employees might be able to manually track its IT assets in an Excel file so they know when they need to replace its server or computers. However, a small business of 50 people will have a difficult time tracking IT assets without the help of an MSP or specialized software.
Furthermore, a small business might initially get away with no IT staff, but as that business grows, you’ll need dedicated people or a team of people to handle the business’s IT infrastructure.
Backup and Disaster Recovery
Backup and disaster recovery, despite often being used interchangeably, are not the same thing.
A backup is an extra physical or virtual copy of data on another storage device, whereas disaster recovery is a step-by-step plan for responding to a major incident by switching to a secondary IT infrastructure.
Data is one of an organization’s most valuable assets. If that data is lost or stolen, it could have irreparable effects on its operations, bottom line and reputation.
Having backups and a disaster recovery plan should be an essential part of any organization’s IT infrastructure.
A managed service provider like Hungerford can solve these issues for nearly any small business.
From security to scalability, these challenges demand attention so small businesses can safeguard their data, empower their team adapt to change.
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