Things That Should Be Illegal in 2025: A Wake-Up Call for IT Leaders at Growing SMBs

If your business is growing, your IT strategy should be evolving alongside it. Yet many small to mid-sized businesses, especially those scaling quickly, are still relying on outdated, insecure, or inefficient IT practices that compromise performance, waste resources, and leave critical data exposed.

These aren’t just inconvenient habits. They’re practices that should no longer exist in 2025.

A recent report from Deloitte shows that 70% of small and mid-sized organizations experience preventable technology failures each year, most often due to overlooked IT practices. Meanwhile, IBM’s Cost of a Data Breach Report 2024 found that organizations with less mature IT processes saw breach costs 26.8% higher than those with automated, modernized systems.

At Notics, we specialize in supporting businesses with limited internal IT resources. Instead of reacting to failures, we help organizations proactively eliminate the risks that cause them. That means identifying what no longer belongs in your tech environment—and replacing it with scalable, secure, and efficient solutions that enable growth.

This post will walk through the five most outdated IT practices that should be retired immediately, explain why they still exist, and offer practical, forward-looking solutions for replacing them.

Current State – Outdated Practices That Shouldn’t Exist in 2025

1. Lack of Standardized Onboarding and Offboarding for Users

Many businesses still rely on manual processes, or no formal process at all, to grant and remove employee access to critical systems.

Why it’s a problem:
Untracked access leads to security gaps, data exposure, and operational inefficiencies. Unrevoked accounts are one of the top causes of data breaches, especially in organizations with distributed teams or high turnover.

Example:
A terminated employee retaining access to file storage or email for weeks is a compliance risk, especially if they had access to customer or financial data.

2. Shared Accounts for Business-Critical Applications

When multiple users share credentials for key platforms, like email, EHR systems, or cloud storage, traceability and accountability are lost.

Why it’s a problem:
This violates basic identity and access management principles. It also increases the risk of unauthorized access, improper use, and audit failures.

Example:
A data entry error made through a shared account may not be traceable to a specific person, creating issues for both compliance and quality assurance.

3. No Documented IT Asset Inventory

Companies operating without an up-to-date record of devices, software licenses, and hardware assets are making decisions blindly.

Why it’s a problem:
Without visibility, you can’t track vulnerabilities, plan lifecycle upgrades, or ensure patch management.

Example:
Unmanaged devices or out-of-support software versions often become attack vectors during cybersecurity incidents.

4. Reactive IT Support Contracts

Many businesses still rely on support models where issues are only addressed when something breaks, often leading to downtime and missed productivity.

Why it’s a problem:
Reactive IT models don’t scale and tend to be more expensive in the long run. By the time you notice the issue, the damage is already done.

Example:
A failed backup discovered only after a data loss event is no longer a technical issue, it’s a business continuity crisis.

5. No Centralized Access Management or MFA Enforcement

Allowing users to log into business systems without multifactor authentication (MFA) or centralized identity control is an unnecessary security risk.

Why it’s a problem:
Credentials are the most common initial attack vector. Without MFA or centralized login (e.g., via SSO), you’re increasing exposure.

Example:
A single stolen password can give attackers complete access to a company’s sensitive records if no second authentication layer exists.

Section 2: Strategic Solutions to Replace Risky Practices

1. Automate User Lifecycle Management

What it is:
Tools and policies that automate how employees are provisioned and deprovisioned from systems.

Why it matters:
This reduces the likelihood of overlooked access and ensures compliance.

How to implement it:
Integrate your HR software with an identity provider (IdP) like Azure AD or Okta to manage role-based access and automate removals.

Business impact:
Improves security, saves admin time, and ensures that access matches job roles at all times.

2. Enforce Identity-First Security with MFA and SSO

What it is:
Securing all business applications behind a single sign-on with mandatory MFA for every user.

Why it matters:
It prevents unauthorized access, even if passwords are compromised.

How to implement it:
Deploy an IdP with MFA capabilities, enforce policies across devices and apps, and monitor login activity for anomalies.

Business impact:
Improved compliance, reduced breach risk, and better control over who can access what.

3. Build and Maintain an IT Asset Inventory

What it is:
A centralized, real-time inventory of every IT asset, device, license, and system in use.

Why it matters:
You can’t protect what you don’t know exists. An asset inventory enables better planning, security, and budgeting.

How to implement it:
Use RMM (Remote Monitoring and Management) tools that detect and track assets automatically.

Business impact:
Reduces waste, prevents compliance gaps, and supports smarter tech investments.

4. Shift to Proactive IT Management

What it is:
Ongoing, preventative support, rather than issue-based ticket handling.

Why it matters:
Proactive models allow IT teams to anticipate problems, apply updates, and secure systems before they fail.

How to implement it:
Work with a managed service provider that prioritizes monitoring, patching, and strategy, not just reactive fixes.

Business impact:
Less downtime, better planning, improved user experience, and lower long-term IT costs.

5. Replace Shared Accounts with Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)

What it is:
Each user gets a unique login with permissions based on their responsibilities.

Why it matters:
It’s the foundation of accountability and auditability across your systems.

How to implement it:
Design access roles for each department, enforce unique credentials, and use access review tools regularly.

Business impact:
Improves data security, supports compliance requirements, and simplifies breach investigations.

Conclusion

Businesses in 2025 should not be operating with security practices from 2010. Yet far too many are still using shared logins, skipping MFA, or managing access manually. These choices aren’t just outdated—they’re dangerous.

Modern IT management isn’t just about having tools in place. It’s about using them consistently, strategically, and in ways that actually support your business objectives.

At Notics, we partner with growing businesses that need expert IT without building an internal department. Our approach is proactive, embedded, and outcomes-driven. We don’t wait for things to break; we help you build systems that don’t.

The gap between efficient and exposed isn’t always obvious—until it’s too late. Now is the time to close it.

Take a moment to audit your systems. Are any of these outdated practices still happening in your organization? If so, you already know what needs to change. We’re here to help you make it happen.

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