January is the month for checkups, doctor, dentist, maybe even that weird noise in your car.
Preventive care is boring. But not as boring as a preventable disaster.

So here’s the uncomfortable question:
When was the last time your business technology had a real checkup?
Not “we fixed the printer.” A full health exam. Because “working” and “healthy” are two very different things.

The “I Feel Fine” Trap

Most businesses skip tech assessments because everything seems fine.
But just like high blood pressure or cavities, tech problems are invisible, until they’re catastrophic.

The issues that take down Vancouver small businesses are almost always:

  • Backups that exist but don’t restore
  • Aging hardware that was “fine” until it wasn’t
  • Access that was never cleaned up
  • Compliance gaps nobody checked

Your systems can run daily while being one bad day away from disaster.

What a Real Tech Physical Checks

Think of this like a doctor’s exam for your IT environment:

Vital Signs: Backup & Recovery

  • Are backups completing successfully?
  • When did you last test a restore?
  • If your server dies Monday at 9 a.m., how fast can you recover?

Most businesses discover broken backups during an emergency. That’s like finding out your airbags don’t work during a crash.

Heart Health: Hardware & Infrastructure

  • How old are your servers, firewalls, and workstations?
  • Is anything past manufacturer support (no more security updates)?
  • Are you replacing strategically—or waiting for failure?

Aging gear slows productivity and eventually fails at the worst time.

Bloodwork: Access & Credentials

  • Who has access to what?
  • Any ex-employees still active? Vendors who finished months ago?
  • Shared accounts with no accountability?

Access creep is a major cybersecurity risk for small businesses.

Cancer Screening: Disaster Readiness

  • If ransomware hits tomorrow, what’s the plan?
  • Is it documented and tested?
  • How long could you survive without systems?

If your plan is “we’ll figure it out,” that’s not a plan, it’s a prayer.

Specialist Referrals: Compliance

  • Healthcare? HIPAA fines can hit $50,000 per incident.
  • Handle credit cards? PCI compliance is mandatory.
  • Client contracts with security requirements? Increasingly enforced.

You need IT support that understands your industry, not generic advice.

Warning Signs You’re Overdue

  • “I think our backups are working.”
  • “Our server is old, but it still runs.”
  • “We probably have ex-employees in the system.”
  • “We have a disaster plan… somewhere.”
  • “If [name] left, we’d be in trouble.”

If any of these sound familiar, it’s time for a checkup.

The Cost of Skipping

A checkup costs hours.
A failure costs days or your entire business.

  • Data loss: Client records, financial history, project files, gone.
  • Downtime: Every hour offline costs money and reputation.
  • Compliance fines: HIPAA, PCI, and new privacy laws add penalties.
  • Ransomware: Average recovery cost for small businesses is six figures.

Prevention is cheap and boring.
Recovery is expensive and humiliating.

Why You Can’t DIY

You don’t diagnose yourself, you see a professional.
Same with tech. You need someone who:

  • Knows what healthy looks like for your size and industry
  • Spots patterns that predict major problems
  • Sees what you’ve normalized and missed

That’s what managed IT services do: fire prevention, not firefighting.

Schedule Your Tech Checkup

It’s January. You’re scheduling other preventive care, add this one.
Book an Annual Tech Physical:
✅ 15 minutes
✅ No jargon
✅ No pressure
✅ Just clarity

Schedule your 15-minute discovery call now

Because the best time to catch a problem is before it becomes an emergency.
And that time is now.