New Year, New Network: Best IT Practices to Start 2026 Strong

The new year is the perfect time to review, refresh, and realign your business technology. Just like setting goals for growth or hiring, your IT strategy should be part of your annual planning.

At SolvIT, we help businesses start the year right with secure, scalable, and proactive IT services. Below is a checklist of best IT practices to help your business succeed in 2026.

🧠 Reflect on Last Year’s IT Performance

Start with an honest review:

• Did your systems experience any downtime?

• Were your employees frequently submitting IT tickets?

• Did you experience any security incidents?

Use this review to identify gaps and opportunities for improvement.

🔄 Update Software & Patch All Devices

Security starts with staying current. Make sure your team:

• Installs all pending OS and app updates

• Removes unused software

• Verifies firewall, antivirus, and endpoint protections are active

🔐 Refresh Your Cybersecurity Policies

The new year is an ideal time to revisit or introduce policies such as:

• Password protocols and MFA

• Phishing awareness training

• BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) rules

• Remote work security guidelines

💡 Tip: SolvIT offers cybersecurity audits and team training sessions.

💾 Test Your Backups & Disaster Recovery Plan

Your data backups are only useful if they work when needed. Be sure to:

• Test your backups for data integrity

• Review your recovery time objectives (RTOs)

• Confirm cloud/offsite backups are functioning
  

📈 Evaluate Scalability and Cloud Infrastructure

Ask yourself:

• Can your current systems support growth this year?

• Are your servers/cloud environments scalable?

• Do you need to upgrade storage or bandwidth?

SolvIT helps businesses transition to scalable cloud solutions with ease.

📋 Conduct an IT Asset & License Inventory

A new year is the right time to:

• Audit hardware and software

• Identify aging equipment

• Ensure licenses are renewed and tracked

• Remove unauthorized or unsupported devices
  

🎯 Set IT Goals Aligned with Business Strategy

Examples of smart IT goals:

• Move to a hybrid cloud model

• Improve remote access performance

• Increase help desk efficiency

• Reach 100% MFA adoption

✅ Need help building your roadmap? SolvIT provides IT planning support for growth-focused businesses.

🛠️ Schedule a Strategic Planning Session

Don’t start the year without a plan. Get ahead of risks and technology gaps with a clear, expert-supported IT strategy.

Let’s build an IT strategy that supports where you are—and where you're headed.
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