What are the most common IT mistakes that small businesses make (part 1)?

6th October 2025

Often having reduced IT resources, what errors do SMBs make in their IT and how can they be rectified?

We understand how difficult IT can be for anyone, but particularly smaller businesses. You probably don’t have a dedicated IT team (unless you partner with an MSP like us), you might have one person who IT is assigned to, but they’re not necessarily an expert.

The lack of budget and focus on IT can lead to businesses making mistakes and finding problems: what are the most common ones and how can you fix them?

1.  Not standardising software across the business

Ever had a situation where everyone uses Microsoft for their various programs, but one person uses Google and isn’t compatible with certain things? It can get frustrating. Ensure the whole business is aligned to the same products: it will make for better collaboration and productivity.

2. Failing to plan for scalability

SMBs tend to just buy things to solve whatever problem they are currently having, not considering the future. Sometimes, investing in technology that can easily grow when you grow, like cloud, can really pay off in the long run.

3. Poor IT support structure

As mentioned in the introduction, you can’t be relying on one person, whose job isn’t even in IT, to cover all your business’ needs! If you can, invest in a dedicated IT solution, be it an in-house team or a managed service provider.

4. Overcomplicating tech for staff

Smaller business may have workers who aren’t as tech savvy: there is no point investing in the latest technology if your team are going to be unable to use it. Prioritise applications that are simple to use, regardless of skill level, and provide proper training to people using new programs.

5. Neglecting regular maintenance

If you only fix things when they break completely, you create much more work for yourself: remember to update and make necessary changes often, so that everything continues to run at maximum efficiency.

If you’re in a small business, then hopefully you find these tips useful (though they can work for anyone). We’ll have five more tips in our next article: keep an eye out for it!

At Interfuture Systems, we pride ourselves on being supportive of all businesses, regardless of size: if your IT could use some improvement, reach out to us today!

YouTube: https://youtu.be/ztzFpevVDqA