As we reach the midpoint of 2025, it’s the perfect time for businesses to pause, assess their IT health, and prepare for the challenges and opportunities ahead. A mid-year IT checkup is more than a maintenance task. It’s a strategic opportunity to optimize systems, reinforce security, and align technology with your business goals for the remainder of the year. Whether you’re a small business or a growing enterprise, partnering with a Managed Service Provider (MSP) can make this process seamless and impactful.
Here’s how a Managed Service Provider (MSP) can guide you through a mid-year review process.
Review Your IT Performance for the First Half of the Year
An MSP can provide detailed analytics and performance dashboards, helping you identify inefficiencies and prioritize areas for improvement. For example, if helpdesk tickets show a repeated issue in one department, it may be time for a hardware or software refresh, or user training.
During the review process, the MSP might assess:
- System Uptime/Downtime: Are IT systems consistently available? Frequent outages may be caused by deeper infrastructure issues.
- Helpdesk Trends: Are there recurring issues or spikes in support tickets? These patterns can reveal training gaps, aging hardware, or software issues.
- Network Performance: Are there slowdowns or bottlenecks affecting productivity?
Reevaluate Your Cybersecurity Practices
2025 has already seen a sharp increase in ransomware and phishing attacks, especially in industries like healthcare, finance, and manufacturing. Mid-year is the perfect time to reassess how prepared your IT infrastructure is to withstand an attack.
An MSP can conduct a comprehensive security audit, update endpoint protection, and run simulated phishing campaigns to test employee awareness. They can also help implement zero-trust architecture and ensure compliance with evolving regulations.
Some areas that an MSP will evaluate include the following:
- Are your backups secure, off-site, and regularly tested?
- Is Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) enforced across all systems and used correctly by all staff?
- Has a vulnerability scan been conducted recently for intrusion opportunities
Align IT with Business Goals for Q3 and Q4
To ensure your IT infrastructure is stable and ready to support business growth in the second half of the year and beyond, an MSP can help align your IT strategy with your business goals so that technology helps drive your business and not become a bottleneck.
Some key things that an MSP will review include:
- Are you planning to grow business operations or expand into new markets?
- Are you planning to hire new remote or hybrid employees or open new locations?
- Are you planning on introducing any new products or services in the near future?
Optimize Cloud and SaaS Usage
Many businesses overspend on cloud services they no longer use or need. A mid-year review can uncover hidden costs and opportunities for savings.
As part of a mid-year review, an MSP can:
- Conduct a cloud cost analysis to identify underutilized resources and recommend rightsizing.
- Conduct an audit ofSaaS licenses to ensure you’re not paying for unused licenses.
- Evaluate legacy systems for potential cloud migration to improve infrastructure agility and reduce maintenance costs.
Update Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Plans
Your business’s disaster recovery and business continuity plans should reflect your current operations, not those from last year. If you’ve added new systems, locations, or vendors, your plan needs to be updated.
An MSP can run various tests, review failover systems, and update documentation to ensure your business can recover quickly in the event of a disruption, whether from a cyberattack, natural disaster, or system failure.
Plan for End-of-Year IT Projects
An MSP can help you prioritize and schedule projects now, avoiding the year-end scramble. This also helps ensure a smoother execution and optimal use of the budget. Examples of some common projects include:
- Replacing aging equipment before it fails.
- Preparing for compliance audits, such as HIPAA and FINRA.
- Beginning to forecast IT needs and costs to create effective 2026 budgets.
Employee Training and Awareness
Phishing attacks continue to grow, and human error remains the leading cause of data breaches. An educated team is your organization’s first line of defense against a cyberattack. An MSP can:
- Provide cybersecurity training to reinforce best practices and provide information on new threats.
- Conduct a role-based access review to ensure that employees have access to the systems they need with the proper authentication.
- Provide policy updates regarding areas such asacceptable use policies, hybrid and remote work guidelines, and incident response plans.
Don’t wait until December to start planning for 2026. Working with the right MSP partner ensures that your IT infrastructure is ready to protect your business today and support your growth for tomorrow. To learn how Systems Integration Inc. can help you with your 2025 Mid-Year Review, contact us at https://www.sys-int.com/