It’s Dry January — But for Your Salt Lake Business Tech Stack
Across Salt Lake City, people are skipping cocktails to start the year fresh.
But your business has its own version of Dry January too. It's not about drinks — it's about outdated tech habits that are draining your team's productivity, exposing your data, and slowing down your growth.
At Qual IT, we've seen what happens when these issues go unchecked. You’re busy, your team is juggling a dozen priorities, and "fix IT" keeps falling to the bottom of the list. Until it's too late.
Here are 6 tech habits that Salt Lake businesses need to quit now — and what to do instead.
- Clicking "Remind Me Later" on System Updates
That innocent little button is a major security risk. Every time you delay an update, you’re leaving a known vulnerability open for attackers. In Salt Lake, we’ve seen ransomware cases spike from companies that skipped basic patching.
Criminals don't guess passwords anymore. They exploit weaknesses that have already been patched. You're just not protected because you hit "Later."
Do this instead: Schedule updates during off-hours or let a managed IT services provider like Qual IT push them automatically with zero disruption. No downtime. No surprises. Maximum protection.
- Reusing the Same Password for Everything
We get it. You have a "strong" password. You even included a special character.
But if you use that same password for Office 365, your bank, your project management tool, and some old software portal from 2018, you're one breach away from complete compromise.
Credential stuffing is rampant in Salt Lake right now. One leak, and cybercriminals have access to your entire digital life.
Do this instead: Roll out a password manager like 1Password or Bitwarden across your team. It generates secure, unique passwords for every login. And you only have to remember one.
- Sharing Credentials Over Email or Slack
"Hey, can you send me the admin login for the firewall?"
"Sure! It's admin@yourcompany.com, Password123!"
Just like that, you've created a security liability that lives in your email archives forever.
Do this instead: Use the secure sharing features in your password manager. Credentials are shared without being visible. If someone leaves the company or no longer needs access, you revoke it in seconds.
- Giving Everyone Admin Access
This is a huge one we see in Salt Lake mid-sized businesses.
Your staff needed to install something once, so they got admin rights. Now, everyone has full access. If one account gets hacked? Game over.
Ransomware thrives on admin accounts.
Do this instead: Implement the principle of least privilege. Everyone gets only what they need. Set up group-based roles and permission levels. Yes, it takes a little time up front. But it’s nothing compared to the cost of a breach.
- Living With "Temporary Fixes" That Became Permanent
"Oh, just use the back-end portal and copy the numbers into Excel manually. It works."
That workaround has been in place since 2020.
Temporary fixes become permanent bottlenecks. They cost your Salt Lake team hours every week. Worse, they break without warning.
Do this instead: Make a list of your IT workarounds. You don’t have to fix them all yourself. Qual IT can audit them, prioritize, and implement lasting solutions that scale as you grow.
- Relying on One Spreadsheet to Run Your Business
Salt Lake companies love their spreadsheets. But we’ve seen far too many businesses depending on a single Excel file with 12 tabs and formulas that only one person understands.
What happens if the file gets corrupted? Or that person leaves?
Do this instead: Identify what the spreadsheet is doing: CRM? Inventory? Scheduling? Then move that function into proper software with backups, access controls, and reporting. Let Qual IT help you migrate it cleanly.
Why These Habits Stick (And How to Actually Break Them)
These aren’t "bad" habits because you’re lazy. They stick because:
- The consequences aren’t obvious until it’s too late.
- The right way seems slower (even though it saves you more over time).
- Everyone else does it the same way, so it feels normal.
That’s where a local Salt Lake City IT company makes all the difference.
At Qual IT, we don’t just hand you a checklist. We rewire your environment so the secure, scalable, smart way becomes the default.
- Updates get auto-deployed.
- Password sharing becomes secure by design.
- Permissions are role-based, not all-access.
- Spreadsheets get replaced with scalable platforms.
Ready to Quit the Habits Holding Your Business Back?
We’re not here to shame you. We’re here to help you move forward.
Book a Free Network Assessment
Let’s take 15 minutes to look at what’s slowing your Salt Lake business down — and build a plan to fix it without adding more to your plate.
Click here to book your free network assessment.
No jargon. No pressure. Just actionable insight and local support.
Austin McDonald
Qual IT | Salt Lake City's Trusted Managed IT Services Provider
