New Year, New Gear: Your 2026 Digital Fresh Start Checklist

As we count down to midnight, most of us are thinking about gym memberships or learning a new language. But for Lancashire business owners, there’s another kind of ‘fitness’ that matters just as much: digital resilience.

In 2025, we saw AI go mainstream and cyber threats get smarter. To make sure 2026 is your most productive and least stressful year yet, we’ve put together the ultimate ‘new year IT to-do list.’

Tick these off and you can walk back into the office in January with total confidence.

1️. The ‘Ghost of Employees Past’ audit

Over the last year, have you had contractors, temporary staff or employees move on? It’s incredibly easy for zombie accounts to stay active in your systems.

• The Task: Review your user lists in Microsoft 365, Google Workspace and your CRM.
• Why it matters: Unused accounts are a backdoor for hackers. If they don’t need access, shut the door and lock it.

2️. Move from MFA to MFA everywhere 

Most businesses use Multi-Factor Authentication for email. In 2026, that’s no longer enough.

• The Task: Ensure MFA is turned on for everything, your accounting software, your social media management tools and even your password managers.
• Expert Tip: If a service doesn’t offer MFA, it might be time to look for a more secure alternative this year.

3️. Create Your AI code of conduct

Your team is likely already using AI to help write emails or summarise meetings. But do you know where that data is going?

• The Task: Draft a simple one-page AI policy. Define which tools are safe (paid/enterprise versions) and what data should never be uploaded (like client contracts or private financial info).
• Why it matters: Using free AI tools often means you’re feeding your private data back into their public models.

4️. The spring clean in January

Hardware doesn’t last forever. A laptop that’s 5 years old isn’t just slow; it’s a security risk because it often can’t run the latest protective software.

• The Task: Identify any dinosaur tech in the office. If it’s struggling to run basic updates, add it to the 2026 replacement budget.
• The Bonus: Don’t forget the physical clean! Blow the dust out of server fans and wipe down those keyboards. A cool machine is a fast machine.

5️. Stress test your safety net

Having a backup is good. Knowing that backup actually works is better.

• The Task: Ask your IT team (or us!) to perform a restore test. Pick one random folder from six months ago and try to bring it back to life.
• Why it matters: 20% of businesses discover their backups are corrupted only after they’ve lost their data. Don’t be that statistic.

One last resolution: treat IT as a partner, not a utility

The biggest mistake businesses make is only calling the IT doctor when something is already broken. This year, let’s aim for proactive health.

Whether it’s automating those boring repetitive tasks or finally moving that clunky old server to a secure cloud, the right tech should make your life easier, not harder.

From the whole team at J700 Group, we wish you a prosperous, high-speed and secure 2026!