Free, and yours either way

How well is your IT actually set up?

Twelve questions, about five minutes. You get a score out of 100, a breakdown by area, and a plain explanation of what to fix first — whether or not you ever work with us.

Answer honestly — nobody sees this but you and us, and a flattering score is worth nothing to either of us. “I do not know” is a real answer and scores as one; it is usually the most useful thing you can tell us.

1 When was your last backup restored — not taken, restored?

Taking a backup and restoring one are different things, and only the second has ever saved anybody.

Within the last three months Within the last year Never tested We do not have backups

2 Is a copy of your data held somewhere other than the office?

A fire, a flood or a theft takes the server and the backup drive beside it together.

Yes, offsite or in the cloud On a drive somebody takes home All copies are in the building I do not know

3 Does everyone sign in with their own account?

Shared logins mean nobody can be told apart in a log, and a leaver still has the password.

Yes, everyone has their own Mostly, with a few shared Several people share logins I do not know

4 Is two-factor authentication switched on for email?

A stolen email password is how invoice fraud starts: the attacker reads the thread, then changes the bank details.

Yes, for everyone For managers only No I do not know

5 When somebody leaves, how quickly do their accounts get disabled?

Email, the accounting system, the shared drive, the Wi-Fi, and any remote access.

Same day, with a checklist Within a week or two Often not at all I do not know

6 Do you know what is connected to your network?

Devices, servers, access points, cameras — and who put them there.

Yes, it is documented Roughly, in somebody’s head No I do not know

7 Is your Wi-Fi separated between staff and visitors?

A guest device on the same network as your server is a guest device on your server.

Yes, separate networks Same network, different password Everyone uses the same Wi-Fi I do not know

8 Are the operating systems and software kept updated?

Most successful attacks use a hole that was fixed months earlier.

Yes, and somebody checks Automatic updates, unchecked Rarely or when something breaks I do not know

9 Who fixes IT problems today?

A contracted IT provider Someone internal, as part of their job Whoever is least busy Nothing formal

10 Is there a record of problems reported and how they were resolved?

Without one, the same fault gets diagnosed from scratch every time.

Yes, in a ticket system In email, somewhere No record I do not know

11 If the main server or system stopped this morning, how long until you could work?

Not how long to fix it — how long until staff can do their jobs.

A few hours About a day Several days No idea

12 Are your domain name and certificates renewed before they expire?

They expire quietly, usually to an address nobody reads any more.

Yes, the dates are tracked On auto-renew, card not checked We have been caught out before I do not know when they expire

Where shall we send your scorecard?

Your name

Organisation optional

Phone optional

How many people work there?

We send the scorecard to the address above and keep your answers as the record of the assessment. We do not add you to any mailing list and we do not pass this to anybody. See our privacy policy.