5 Tech New Year’s Resolutions You Should Make in 2020

New Year’s resolutions – we all make them. Some aspire to become dedicated gym-goers. Others hope to reduce their consumption of single-use plastic. Some pledge to learn the piano, eat out less, or spend more time with friends and family.

As 2020 looms, the possibilities feel endless. Not only are we entering a new year, but also a whole new decade. Personal goals aside, it’s time to start thinking about how you can kick-off the Roaring 20s 2.0 and set your business up for success.

Here are five tech New Year’s resolutions you should make in 2020.

1. Change your passwords

Using strong, unique passwords for each account is one of the best ways you can protect your personal and business information. Shockingly, after a review of the top 100,000 passwords unlocked by malicious hackers, one research team found that 23.2 million people used ‘123456’ as their password. Let’s make this terrifying fact a thing of the past.

Strong passwords are long, nonsensical, and contain a mix of lower- and upper-case letters, numbers, and special characters (!, @, #, $, etc.). You might like to install a password manager to keep track of your passwords.

2. Take advantage of cloud-based solutions

Unless you’re living under a rock, you know that cloud-based solutions are taking over the world. More and more businesses are making the switch to cloud applications and cloud storage providers. Why? Because they are affordable, flexible, scalable, secure, and offer anywhere-anytime access.

3. Outsource your IT

If you’re not already, outsourcing your IT support should be at the top of your tech New Year’s resolution list. Outsourcing offers a whole host of benefits, including:

• Enhanced productivity: when you outsource select IT tasks, your in-house team has more time and resources to work on business-critical activities.
• Cut IT costs: if improving your bottom line is a priority in 2020, outsourcing may enable you to eliminate your in-house team altogether.
• Access the latest tech: technology is evolving at rapid speeds, and when you work with a reputable IT provider, you can access innovative tech solutions you may not have otherwise known about.

4. Enhance your cybersecurity efforts

You’ve changed your passwords. Fantastic. But it’s going to take a whole lot more than that to protect your business against increasingly sophisticated threats.

As you look to enhance your cybersecurity efforts, keep this critical fact in mind: 42 percent of all cybersecurity events arise from the malicious or unintentional actions of employees. Make sure your updated security strategy includes ample staff training, as well as protective measures that prohibit unauthorized internal access.

5. Stop settling for a sub-par IT provider

If you’re unhappy with the service you’re getting from your current IT provider, stop settling. You’re only harming yourself and your business. Some tell-tale signs of a sub-par provider include:

• They take up to a week to get back to you.
• They don’t take your business security seriously.
• They are not proactive – they only contact you when they have something to sell.
• They don’t follow through on their promises – for example, they say they will remedy an issue within 24 hours but take three days instead.

If any of these sound familiar, it’s time to start your search for a new IT provider. Look for a company that can deliver what you need now, while also offering you plenty of opportunities to grow and expand.