Ten common technology problems, and their fixes

Every business has technology problems. Most have well-known causes and proven fixes. Here are the ten most common.

1. A slow or unreliable network

Pages load slowly, video calls freeze, transfers crawl and staff complain weekly.

Causes. Consumer equipment carries business loads, and video calls and cloud backups crowd out normal traffic. Switches, access points or cabling are old, the internet line is too small, and nothing prioritises critical traffic.

Fixes.

• Install business-grade equipment with quality of service (QoS) set up.
• Separate voice, video, data and guest traffic.
• Size bandwidth from real usage data.
• Add a second internet line with automatic failover.
• Monitor the network all the time.

A $2,000 to $5,000 network upgrade often ends years of lost productivity.

2. Email problems

Important mail lands in spam, clients miss messages, staff fall for phishing and the domain gets blacklisted.

Causes. SPF, DKIM or DMARC are missing or wrong, and filtering stops at the default. Staff lack phishing training, shared mailboxes or forwarding break authentication, and hijacked accounts send spam.

Fixes.

• Set up SPF, DKIM and DMARC correctly. Google and Microsoft now enforce them.
• Add an email security gateway against phishing, impersonation and malware.
• Run phishing simulations and awareness training.
• Audit forwarding rules and shared mailboxes.
• Watch your domain’s reputation, and act at once on any blacklisting.

Email is most businesses’ main channel and the main way attacks arrive.

3. Breaches and malware

Ransomware locks files, accounts get hijacked, data leaks and customers get odd emails from you.

Causes. Critical accounts lack MFA, and protection stops at basic antivirus. Software goes unpatched, staff go untrained, and a flat network lets one breach spread everywhere.

Fixes.

• Enforce MFA on every account, starting with email and admin access.
• Deploy endpoint detection and response (EDR).
• Automate patching for systems and apps.
• Train staff, with phishing simulations.
• Segment the network so one device cannot reach everything.

Our cybersecurity team assesses, fixes and monitors security.

4. Lost data and weak backups

Deleted files are gone for good, a failed server has no recent backup, or ransomware reaches the backups too.

Causes. There is no backup policy, and backups are never test-restored. The scope misses systems, cloud data or SaaS apps, with no offsite or immutable copy.

Sync tools such as OneDrive or Google Drive are treated as backups, which they are not.

Fixes.

• Follow the 3-2-1 rule, with three copies on two kinds of media and one offsite.
• Test restores at least quarterly, including whole systems.
• Back up Microsoft 365, Google Workspace and Salesforce data yourself, since the vendor does not.
• Keep immutable backups that ransomware cannot change.
• Set and record the recovery time objective (RTO) and recovery point objective (RPO) for each critical system.

Data loss is the one IT problem that can end a business, and among the most preventable.

5. Software conflicts

Apps crash after updates, programs clash, a Windows update breaks a key tool or new software will not install.

Causes. Updates go out without change control, and staff install their own software. Apps run on unsupported systems, vendor updates go untested, and nobody tracks apps or their end-of-life dates.

Fixes.

• Test updates before wide rollout, even with a light process.
• Use Intune or JAMF to control what gets installed.
• Keep an app inventory with versions and end-of-life dates.
• Roll updates to a pilot group first.
• Keep a known-good system image for fast rollback.

6. Printers

The printer is “offline” again, jobs never print, scanners drop and devices fail after updates.

Causes. Static printer addresses clash with DHCP, and drivers are old. Printers sit on busy Wi-Fi, print servers are too complex and firmware goes un-updated for years.

Fixes.

• Use DHCP reservations, not static addresses.
• Standardise on one or two printer models.
• Wire printers to Ethernet where you can.
• Consider cloud printing in place of print servers.
• Update printer firmware on schedule.

Printers cause a large share of tickets. Simplifying them often cuts help desk volume by 10% to 15%.

7. Remote work

The VPN drops, remote staff cannot reach internal systems, home Wi-Fi is slow and personal devices go unmanaged.

Causes. The VPN was not built for so many users, and remote hardware and connections vary. Old VPNs are slow and risky, remote devices go unmanaged and some apps only work well in the office.

Fixes.

• Move from VPN to zero-trust network access (ZTNA) for better security and speed.
• Give remote staff company devices enrolled in endpoint management.
• Set a minimum home internet speed, with a stipend if needed.
• Move latency-sensitive apps to cloud versions.
• Consider a secure access service edge (SASE) platform.

Remote work is here to stay, so treat remote access as core infrastructure.

8. Compliance gaps

An audit finds missing controls or documents, retention misses the rules, or a client questionnaire shows gaps.

Causes. No one owns compliance, and systems were built without it in mind. Documents are missing or stale, controls were never checked, and nobody monitors continuously.

Fixes.

• List the frameworks that apply, such as SOC 2, HIPAA, PCI DSS and state privacy laws.
• Assess your gaps against each.
• Design compliance into systems from the start.
• Automate monitoring and evidence collection.
• Review compliance quarterly, not just before audits.

Our compliance practice builds compliance into your systems instead of adding it later.

9. Shadow IT

Departments buy SaaS tools without IT, and data sits in consumer storage. Staff use personal email, and nobody knows how many apps are in use.

Causes. IT seems slow, so departments go around it. There is no request process, no view of SaaS use and no approved catalogue.

IT also blocks real needs without offering alternatives.

Fixes.

• Audit which SaaS apps are in use, and expect surprises.
• Create a light request and approval process.
• Deploy a cloud access security broker (CASB) to see SaaS use.
• Publish a catalogue of approved, supported apps.
• Ask why people go around IT, and fix that.

Shadow IT is a symptom. Cracking down without fixing the cause drives it underground.

10. Too many vendors

Fifteen IT vendors do not talk to each other. Renewals surprise you, nobody knows what you pay for, and every fault means three vendors blaming each other.

Causes. Tools were added without a plan, and nobody owns vendors. Contracts live in spreadsheets or nowhere, vendors are never reviewed, and departments buy on their own.

Fixes.

• Record every IT vendor, contract, renewal date and cost in one place.
• Consolidate where you lose nothing.
• Name one person or your MSP as accountable for vendors.
• Review vendors yearly, before each renewal.
• Require IT sign-off on any new technology vendor.

An IT partner that sells no products can own your vendors without a conflict of interest.

Getting ahead of problems

All ten share one pattern. Reactive IT brings the same problems back, and proactive IT prevents them. Start with three steps.

1. Document your estate, since you cannot manage what you do not know.
2. Rank by impact, fixing what costs most in time and risk first.
3. Monitor and alert, so you hear when something is about to break.

Questions people ask

What is the most common problem?

Slow networks and security gaps. Small businesses often run on consumer equipment without MFA. Modest spending in these two areas improves daily work the most.

What does downtime cost?

Industry research often puts it at $5,600 a minute for midsize businesses, though it varies widely. Even cautious estimates put an hour’s outage at $10,000 to $50,000. Small daily problems often cost more in total than big outages.

Fix problems one by one, or overhaul everything?

Neither. An overhaul is disruptive and risky, and piecemeal fixes leave a patchwork. Follow a ranked roadmap toward a clear target over 12 to 18 months.

When should we hire an IT consultant?

Hire one when problems keep returning, or when you lack security, compliance or cloud skills. Hire one too when you need an outside view, or your team is too busy firefighting to improve things. A good consultant leaves your team stronger.

How do we stop problems recurring?

Invest in monitoring, documents and process. Most repeat problems come from missed warning signs, unrecorded fixes or repeated mistakes. Managed IT addresses all three.