The 10 IT Problems We See Most Often in Small Businesses – and What Actually Causes Them
For small businesses, recurring IT problems are unlikely to be random. The cause is likely to come from a weakness in your current IT setup. These recurring issues have a real impact on small businesses’ operations, resulting in you spending more time troubleshooting than actually working, or, in the worst case, complete downtime forcing you to put your business on hold until it’s fixed.
Small business IT support is an all-encompassing solution for all types of businesses, taking a proactive approach to keep your IT systems running efficiently. Here at VCI Systems, we have been supporting small businesses with IT solutions for more than 25 years, so we know the telltale signs of a business in need of support. Here are 10 IT problems we see most often and what causes them.
1. Computers That Keep Getting Slower
We’ve all endured the frustration a slow computer brings, but many businesses face it regularly. It takes longer to log in, applications open more slowly, and general use becomes harder. This costs businesses in lost productivity.
Ageing hardware, insufficient memory/storage, too many startup processes or machines being kept beyond their useful lifecycle are likely causes. We recommend considering planned device lifecycle management rather than waiting for failure.
2. Wi-Fi That Works in Some Places but Not Others
If you’ve ever been to an online meeting, you know the last thing you want is your connection dropping due to your wifi. Patchy wifi can cause all sorts of problems for businesses whose operations are based online.
The cause of this unreliable connection could be due to consumer-grade equipment, poor access-point positioning or a network that has never been redesigned as the business grew. If this is something you suffer with, it may be time to upgrade.
3. Employees Constantly Getting Locked Out
Employees unable to access their work IT system causes unnecessary downtime, whether this is due to forgotten passwords, MFA problems and just general account-access issues. If your account management isn’t consistent and your onboarding/offboarding processes aren’t clear, this can keep occurring. We recommend looking into centrally managed identity and access.
4. Emails That Suddenly Stop Working
On some occasions, small businesses are unable to use their emails, which can be pivotal for business communication and customer service. This is likely due to reaching your mailbox limits, DNS/configuration problems, account issues or compromised credentials. Email faults can be frustrating as they can have several causes. This is why having professional IT support on hand is incredibly beneficial.
5. Printers That Nobody Can Reliably Connect To
Being unable to connect to your office printer can quickly slow down productivity and hamper the progress of business tasks. Potential root causes include old drivers, Wi-Fi/network changes and inconsistent configuration. While most people will say they fixed the issue by disconnecting and reconnecting their device, this is just fixing the symptom, not solving the core issue.
6. Software That Stops Working After an Update
After completing an update, you may find you can no longer access or use the system in the same way you had previously. Updates usually expose compatibility problems in ageing or poorly managed systems. This isn’t to say you should avoid updates for fear you won’t be able to access them after; they are critical for system security.
To avoid this, you need to ensure you are proactive with your IT.
7. Files That Disappear or Cannot Be Recovered
If you save all your files to the cloud, you are at the mercy of the servers alone should things begin to unfold. Losing files can set back businesses weeks, months and even years if there is no other backup solution. While losing files isn’t always user error, it can also be caused by sync problems, ransomware and inadequate backup configuration. We recommend testing recovery rather than simply assuming backups work.
8. Security Alerts That Keep Getting Ignored
Ignoring security alerts is another common IT problem we see. Alert fatigue and lack of ownership lead to real security threats not being taken seriously. In order to combat this, employees need simple reporting processes and appropriate cybersecurity awareness.
9. New Starters Who Cannot Access What They Need
When onboarding a new starter, being unable to access the appropriate documents and platforms can lead to dwindling productivity and more time spent troubleshooting than getting to grips with the actual work. This is usually caused by undocumented onboarding and inconsistent permissions/licensing. With a standardised user setup process established before the new starter arrives, you eliminate this issue.
10. The Same IT Problem Coming Back Again
If your small business is suffering from the same IT problem over and over again, this shows that reactive fixes are not the solution to identifying and addressing the root cause. The classic “turn it off and on again” may solve today’s problem, but not the underlying fault. We recommend that your business or IT department introduce proactive monitoring, maintenance, documentation and IT planning.
This is when IT support for small businesses is more than worth it, as prevention is more beneficial than an emergency repair.
Small Business IT Support FAQs
Discover some of the most commonly asked small business IT support questions.
When Does a Small Business Need Professional IT Support?
When your business begins to experience recurring issues, growing downtime and uncertainty around your security, it is time to look into professional IT support.
Is Outsourced IT Support Worth It for a Small Business?
Yes, outsourced IT support is worth it for small businesses, as it provides the business with expertise, proactive maintenance and predictable support. The business also avoids the cost of maintaining the equivalent skills internally.
What Does Small Business IT Support Usually Include?
Small business IT support is likely to include help such as helpdesk assistance, remote/on-site troubleshooting, monitoring, updates, cybersecurity, backups and IT planning.
