Top 3 Barriers to Adequately Investing in IT & Cybersecurity Hygiene for SMBs

In our rapidly advancing business technology and cybersecurity landscape, it is more important than ever for businesses to take a proactive approach to ensure their IT and cybersecurity ecosystem is: 

• Modernized to minimize risk and downtime
• Adequately protected from the modern cybercriminal
• Delivering a great experience for your team and customers

Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are the backbone of many economies, driving innovation, employment, and local economic growth. While some SMBs have raised the bar to stay protected, many SMBs remain underprepared when it comes to modern IT infrastructure and cybersecurity measures—an oversight that carries significant and often underestimated risks.

Don't wait until after an incident happens to make change, take a moment now to pause, reflect, and get clarity on you current IT & cybersecurity hygiene. The right approach could save your business from becoming another statistic.

In this blog, we’ll help SMBs to lift the rug on their IT & cybersecurity ecosystem and hopefully inspire a proactive approach instead of having to deal with an incident reactively. (Hint: reactive is MUCH more expensive than proactive.)

Barriers for Adequate IT & Cybersecurity Hygiene

In a digital-first world, where customer experience and operational speed are key differentiators, relying on aging systems is a slow death sentence for growth.

“Small and medium businesses MUST lift the IT and cybersecurity rug to make sure nothing is being swept under it.”

Mike Nunn

“We Haven’t Had a Problem—So Everything Must Be Fine”

This is one of the most dangerous mindsets in IT and cybersecurity – no one is asking and no one is telling. Just because your business hasn’t experienced visible issues doesn’t mean threats aren’t present. Many cyberattacks, like credential theft or silent breaches, can go unnoticed for weeks or months. Waiting for something to break or get hacked before taking action is like driving without insurance and hoping you never crash.

“Our IT Provider Has It Covered”

Even with a Managed Service Provider (MSP), businesses need to stay informed and ask the right questions. Not all MSPs offer the same level of service, and some may not be proactively managing backups, patching, or security monitoring unless it’s explicitly in the agreement. Assume nothing—verify often. Moreover, smaller MSPs may not have the resources or time to support a growing or larger businesses. Business leaders must have visibility and assurance that their IT partner is doing what they’re supposed to do.

“It’s Too Expensive to Invest in Proper IT and Security”

This is a short-term mindset that leads to long-term regret. The cost of a cyberattack, data breach, or extended downtime often exceeds the cost of proactively investing in strong systems and safeguards—by 10 to 50 times. Investing in modern IT is not just about prevention; it’s about enabling faster operations, better customer service, and growth.

“There are good IT and cybersecurity solutions for businesses of every size. Proper investment doesn’t have to break the bank.”

Mike Nunn

Comparing IT/Cybersecurity Strategy to Fire Safety

For a real-world reality check for your business approach to IT and cybersecurity, let’s compare it to a typical fire safety strategy.

If you have an office/building, you are likely to have:

• Fire insurance
• Fire suppression systems
• Fire extinguishers, and training on how to use them
• Emergency evacuation drills
• Fire response plans
• Business continuity plans
• Evacuation routes posted on the walls
• A fire prevention company coming in annually, semi-annually, or quarterly to check and certify all your fire prevention equipment.

And why do businesses do all this? Because we have to: It’s the law and it’s fire code. More importantly, we inherently know it’s the right thing to do to keep our people and business safe.

Yet, we do all of the above knowing the likelihood of a fire is LOW.

• The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) estimates that only about 1 in 300 businesses will experience a fire each year.
• Most fires are localized and result in physical damage—while modern fire detection and suppression systems reduce the chance of total business disruption.

On the other hand, the likelihood of a cyberattack on a small or medium-sized business (SMB) is significantly higher than that of a fire—and the data is clear.

• Multiple studies (including those from Verizon, IBM, and CIRA in Canada) show that 43% to 60% of all cyberattacks target small and mid-sized businesses because they typically lack adequate protection.
• Cybercrime is growing and already one of the largest industries globally back in 2023.
• A cyberattack can completely stop your business for days, weeks, or months while you recover.
• The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) reported in 2023 that over 70% of SMBs experienced at least one cybersecurity incident in the past year.

Be Proactive, Not Reactive With Your IT & Cybersecurity

All too often, businesses wait until AFTER a cyberattack to make proper investments in IT and cybersecurity, but by then it’s too late. Even worse, some businesses put things back to the way they were before the attack, opening the door for a repeat attack. To build a strong, reliable, and secure IT and cybersecurity foundation businesses should invest in the following key areas:

Modern Infrastructure (Hardware & Networking)

• Why it matters: Outdated equipment leads to instability, downtime, and security gaps.
• What to invest in: Business-grade remotely managed firewalls, switches, reliable Wi-Fi, secure remote access (VPN/SD-WAN), and regularly refreshed workstations and servers.

Endpoint Protection & Monitoring

• Why it matters: Every device is a potential entry point for cyber threats.
• What to invest in: Antivirus/EDR (Endpoint Detection & Response), managed detection & response (MDR), patch management, mobile device management (MDM), and real-time monitoring tools.

Cloud Services & Secure Backups

• Why it matters: Cloud enables scalability and continuity, but without proper backups, data loss is a serious risk.
• What to invest in: Trusted cloud platforms (Microsoft 365, Hosted Bizz, etc.), encrypted off-site/cloud backups, immutable backup storage, and automated backup testing.

Identity & Access Management

• Why it matters: Most breaches happen due to compromised credentials/passwords.
• What to invest in: Active Directory, Multi-factor authentication (MFA), password management tools (like Keeper), conditional access policies, and user access audits.

Cybersecurity Awareness Training

• Why it matters: Employees are your first—and weakest—line of defense, and email is the #1 attack vector.
• What to invest in: Regular phishing simulations, cybersecurity awareness programs (e.g., Phin), and clear policies on email, file sharing, and remote work.

Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery (BCDR)

• Why it matters: If a cyberattack, outage, or disaster strikes, you need to recover fast.
• What to invest in: Documented recovery plans, disaster recovery solutions, infrastructure redundancy, and regular testing of BCDR plans

IT Support & Proactive Maintenance

• Why it matters: Reactive IT, break/fix, and time & materials (T&M) = more downtime and risk.
• What to invest in: Managed IT services, 24/7 monitoring, proactive patching, and regular system health checks.

“More than ever, employees, customers, partners, and suppliers expect businesses to uphold data protection standards. Failing to meet expectations erodes trust, especially if a preventable incident occurs.”

Mike Nunn

Investing in modern IT systems and cybersecurity isn’t just a defense strategy—it’s a growth enabler. Scalable cloud platforms, managed detection & response antivirus, secure remote access, automation tools, employee training, and real-time analytics are some of the ways you can significantly improve efficiency, support remote work, and create better customer experiences.

The cost of doing nothing is far higher than the cost of proactive investment. SMBs that delay modernization risk falling behind competitors, losing customers, and facing existential threats from cyber incidents.

The IT & Cybersecurity Bottom Line

Underinvesting in IT and cybersecurity is a risk businesses should not take.

Meanwhile, TLC Solutions offers a flexible, right-sized IT and cybersecurity solutions to allow you to focus on what you do best knowing your business is protected.

Ready to bring IT & cybersecurity peace of mind to your business, team, and customers? 

Contact us today to see how TLC Solutions can transform your business.

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