If you want fewer IT surprises in 2026, start with a fast, practical readiness check. This 10-minute checklist is tailored for Wichita-area small and midsize businesses and focuses on the highest-impact actions to reduce downtime and security risk. As a 100% local, family-owned MSP/MSSP, Enegren can walk this list with you, prioritize quick wins, and build a right-sized plan for the year.
Why IT readiness matters in 2026
- Ransomware and phishing are still the top business interrupters
- Cyber insurance requirements are tightening
- Hybrid work and cloud apps expand your attack surface
- Talent constraints make prevention and automation essential
The 2026 IT Readiness Checklist (10 minutes)
1. Backups you can trust
- Verify offsite, immutable backups for servers, endpoints, and SaaS data
- Perform a quick test restore to confirm recovery time and integrity
2. Multi-factor authentication everywhere it counts
- Enforce MFA on email, VPN, cloud apps, and all admin accounts
- Prefer app-based or hardware key MFA over text or email
3. Patch and update rhythm
- Patch operating systems, applications, and device firmware
- Turn on automatic updates where safe and set a monthly maintenance window
4. Endpoint protection with eyes on it
- Deploy EDR (endpoint detection and response) on every device
- Ensure alerts are monitored 24/7 with clear escalation paths
5. Email security and user training
- Align SPF, DKIM, and DMARC for your domains
- Schedule monthly or quarterly phishing simulations and awareness training
6. Access control that fits the job
- Apply least-privilege access and separate admin accounts from daily use
- Standardize a business-grade password manager with shared vaults
7. Network segmentation and policy review
- Separate guest, IoT, OT/manufacturing, and corporate networks
- Review firewall, VPN, and remote access policies; remove stale rules
8. Compliance, logging, and insurance alignment
- Map cyber insurance and vendor security requirements to controls
- Set log retention and centralize critical logs for investigations
9. Incident readiness
- Update incident contacts and on-call procedures
- Run a 30–45 minute tabletop exercise to validate your playbook
10. Asset and lifecycle visibility
- Refresh device and software inventory
- Track warranties, licenses, renewals, and end-of-life risks
How Enegren partners with you on this checklist
- Fast assessment and prioritization: In a 30-minute consult, we validate what’s done, surface gaps, and outline quick wins based on your environment and budget.
- Hands-on remediation: We implement or tune backups, MFA, EDR, email security, segmentation, and policy clean-up without disrupting your team.
- 24/7 monitoring and response: Continuous visibility across endpoints, email, and networks with rapid, local support when minutes matter.
- Compliance and insurance support: Practical guidance to meet insurer and vendor security requirements, plus documentation your stakeholders will appreciate.
- Clear communication: Plain-English updates, named points of contact, and predictable schedules so you always know what’s next.
Why a local, family-owned MSP makes a difference
- Faster onsite help: When seconds and minutes matter, being across town matters.
- Wichita-savvy support: We coordinate with local vendors and carriers and understand the realities of regional industries like healthcare, manufacturing, and professional services.
- Relationships over tickets: You’ll know the engineers by name, and they’ll know your environment, not just your ticket number.
- Long-term reliability: Local ownership and accountability mean consistent service and a focus on prevention, not break-fix churn.
How long does the checklist take to implement?
Many items are quick wins you can handle in days or weeks. More advanced items like segmentation and logging are planned projects with clear milestones and minimal downtime.
We already have backups and antivirus—do we still need this?
Yes. A test restore and EDR with monitoring are different from “set and forget” tools. The goal is verified recovery and rapid detection, not just installation.
We’re not a big company—do we need MFA and EDR?
Absolutely. Attackers automate opportunistic attacks. MFA and EDR are now baseline controls for businesses of every size and are often required by insurers.
Next steps: Book your free consultation
Kick off 2026 with clarity and confidence. Enegren will walk through this checklist with you, prioritize what matters most for your business, and outline a right-sized action plan.
- Free consultation for Wichita-area businesses
- No hard sell—just clear next steps, timelines, and options
- Local, responsive, and family-owned support
Contact us online or call (316) 945-4210 to schedule your consult. Let’s make 2026 your most resilient, productive year yet.