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Writing for
people who run businesses.

No clickbait, no AI sludge. Just what we would tell a friend who asked about pricing, security, or how to pick a new tool. Updated regularly.

AI Automation

AI Automation.

Articles on ai automation. Tactical and Canadian.

9 min

Where AI Actually Saves SMBs Money in 2026.

AI hype is loud. AI ROI is quieter. Here are the use cases where small and mid-size businesses are getting real money back, and the ones that are still pre-revenue.

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8 min

An AI Use Policy Template for BC Businesses.

AI tools are in your business whether IT approved them or not. Here is why you need a policy and what it should say.

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6 min

AI Coding Tools for Business: What Actually Helps in 2026.

AI coding assistants like GitHub Copilot and Cursor are reshaping how software gets built. Here is what BC businesses and their developers should know about using them effectively.

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Backup

Backup.

Articles on backup. Tactical and Canadian.

7 min

Backup Strategy 2026: 3-2-1-1-0, Explained.

3-2-1 backup is no longer enough. Modern backup strategy is 3-2-1-1-0. Here is what each number means and how to verify yours.

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6 min

BC Wildfire Season and IT Continuity: How to Prepare Your Business.

BC wildfire season creates real IT continuity risks for interior and northern BC businesses. Here is how to prepare your systems, backups, and team for a smoke or evacuation event.

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Compliance

Compliance.

Articles on compliance. Tactical and Canadian.

10 min

The 2026 Cyber Insurance Questionnaire, Decoded.

Cyber insurance questionnaires used to be a checkbox exercise. Now they decide whether you get a quote at all. Here is what they are really asking and what to do before your next renewal.

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7 min

PIPEDA in Plain English: A 2026 Checklist for BC Businesses.

PIPEDA is the federal privacy law most BC businesses are supposed to follow. Most do not, because most do not know what it requires. Here is a checklist.

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7 min

CASL in 2026: What Counts as Consent, What Does Not.

CASL is older than most marketers realize. Enforcement is newer. Here is what consent really means in 2026 and where most BC businesses fall short.

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6 min

BC PIPA Compliance: An IT Checklist for 2026.

A practical IT checklist for BC businesses needing to comply with the BC Personal Information Protection Act in 2026. What to collect, store, and document.

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5 min

Alberta PIPA vs. PIPEDA: What BC Businesses Need to Know.

Operating in both BC and Alberta? Here is how Alberta PIPA and federal PIPEDA differ, and what that means for your IT and data practices.

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6 min

BYOD Policy Template for BC Small Businesses.

Allowing staff to use personal devices for work? A written BYOD policy protects your business under BC PIPA and clarifies expectations for employees. Here is a template.

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Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity.

Articles on cybersecurity. Tactical and Canadian.

8 min

Remote Work Security in 2026: A BC Playbook.

Remote work is not going anywhere. Security posture for distributed teams in 2026 is well-understood. Here is the BC playbook.

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6 min

Cybersecurity Budget Planning for BC SMBs in 2026.

How much should a BC small business spend on cybersecurity in 2026? A practical breakdown by company size, risk profile, and must-have controls.

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6 min

Zero Trust Networking for Small Business: What It Actually Means.

Zero trust is not a product. It is a security model. Here is what zero trust means for a BC small business and how to get there without an enterprise budget.

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5 min

EDR vs. Antivirus: What the Difference Actually Means for Your Business.

Antivirus and EDR both protect endpoints but in very different ways. Here is a plain-English explanation of the difference and why modern BC SMBs should care.

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6 min

MFA Rollout Guide for BC Small Businesses.

Rolling out multi-factor authentication across your small business does not have to be painful. A step-by-step MFA deployment guide for BC SMBs using Microsoft 365.

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7 min

Incident Response Plan Template for BC Small Businesses.

A practical incident response plan template for BC SMBs. What to do in the first hour of a cyberattack, who calls whom, and how to document it properly.

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5 min

Passkeys vs. Passwords in 2026: What BC Businesses Need to Know.

Passkeys are replacing passwords across major platforms. Here is what BC SMBs need to understand about passkeys, when to adopt them, and what stays the same.

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6 min

DMARC, SPF, and DKIM Explained for Business Owners.

SPF, DKIM, and DMARC protect your email domain from spoofing and phishing. Here is a plain-English explanation and a step-by-step setup guide for BC SMBs.

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5 min

Dark Web Monitoring: Is It Worth It for a Small Business?.

Dark web monitoring services claim to alert you when your credentials appear in breach data. Is it worth paying for? Here is an honest assessment for BC SMBs.

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6 min

Shopify Store Security Hardening for BC E-Commerce Businesses.

Securing your Shopify store goes beyond PCI compliance. Here are the most important security settings and practices for BC e-commerce businesses in 2026.

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Managed IT

Managed IT.

Articles on managed it. Tactical and Canadian.

8 min

What Managed IT Actually Costs in BC in 2026.

Most MSP pricing pages are useless. Here is what BC businesses actually pay for managed IT in 2026, broken down by tier and what should be included at each one.

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8 min

How to Avoid MSP Vendor Lock-in (Without Avoiding MSPs).

Working with an MSP does not have to mean handing over the keys forever. Here is how to structure the relationship so you keep optionality.

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9 min

The First 90 Days of a Managed IT Engagement, Honestly.

If you have never used an MSP, the first 90 days can feel chaotic. Here is what the work actually looks like when it is being done properly.

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7 min

How to Write an MSP RFP (Template for BC Businesses).

A practical guide and template for BC businesses issuing a Request for Proposal for managed IT services. What to include, what to avoid, and how to compare responses.

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Microsoft 365

Microsoft 365.

Articles on microsoft 365. Tactical and Canadian.

11 min

The Microsoft 365 Security Baseline We Apply to Every Client.

Out of the box, Microsoft 365 is wide open. Here is the security baseline we apply to every client in the first 30 days. None of it requires the top SKU.

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6 min

Microsoft 365 vs. Google Workspace for BC SMBs in 2026.

Comparing Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace for BC small businesses in 2026. Pricing, security, compliance, and the verdict for most Canadian SMBs.

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Strategy

Strategy.

Articles on strategy. Tactical and Canadian.

8 min

Technical Debt for SMBs: How to Spot It, How to Pay It Down.

Most SMBs have IT technical debt they do not notice until it costs them. Here are the patterns we see most and what to do about each one.

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Cloud

Cloud.

Articles on cloud. Tactical and Canadian.

6 min

Cloud Cost Overruns: How to Stop Them on Azure and AWS.

Cloud bills get out of hand fast. Here is a practical guide for BC SMBs to identify and eliminate cloud cost waste on Azure and AWS before the next billing cycle.

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7 min

AWS vs. Azure vs. Google Cloud for BC Small Businesses in 2026.

Choosing between AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud for your BC small business? Here is an honest comparison of each platform for SMB use cases in 2026.

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Infrastructure

Infrastructure.

Articles on infrastructure. Tactical and Canadian.

6 min

VoIP Buyer's Guide for BC Small Businesses in 2026.

Choosing a VoIP phone system for your BC small business? This guide covers what to look for, what questions to ask vendors, and the leading options in 2026.

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5 min

Server Room Checklist for 2026: What Should Be There and What Should Not.

A practical server room inspection checklist for BC small businesses. Temperature, access, labelling, power, and the things most SMBs forget to check.

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6 min

Oilfield IT: Rugged Deployments for BC and Alberta Field Sites.

IT deployments on oilfield and gas sites in BC and Alberta require rugged hardware, remote connectivity, and maintenance that works in extreme conditions. Here is what that looks like in practice.

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6 min

Forestry IT: Connectivity and Support for Remote BC Operations.

BC forestry operations face unique IT challenges: remote sites, rugged conditions, limited connectivity, and dispersed crews. Here is how modern forestry companies approach IT.

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6 min

VPN vs. SD-WAN for Small Business: Which Do You Actually Need?.

VPN and SD-WAN both connect remote workers and offices to business resources. Here is a plain-English comparison to help BC SMBs choose the right approach.

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7 min

Office Move IT Checklist: Everything to Plan Before Moving Day.

Moving your BC business office? A poorly planned IT migration causes days of downtime. Here is a complete checklist covering network, phones, servers, and go-live testing.

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