Here’s a question: If your website went offline tomorrow, who would have the authority to fix it?
Not who you would call.
Not who originally built it.
Who actually has access?
For some Nanaimo businesses, the answer is obvious. For others, it’s surprisingly difficult to answer.
The same question could apply to your Microsoft 365 environment, your domain name, your internet account, your security cameras, your backup system, or even the software your team uses every day.
Most of the time, nobody notices because everything is working.
Then something changes.
A password needs to be reset. A vendor relationship ends. A website needs updating. An employee leaves. An account gets locked.
That’s when businesses can suddenly discover that a critical piece of technology has no clear owner – or at least nobody is entirely sure who that owner is anymore.
The funny thing is that this rarely happens because somebody was careless.
It’s usually the result of growth.
A business starts small: A website gets built. Email gets set up. New software is added. Different people make decisions over the years. Staff come and go. Vendors come and go.
Each decision makes sense at the time.
Years later, the business may be relying on systems that were set up by people who are no longer involved.
It’s More Common Than You Might Think
Technology ownership isn’t something most Nanaimo businesses spend time thinking about.
Why would they? If the internet works, the email works, and the website is online, there is usually no reason to question who owns what.
Until there is.
Sometimes the domain name is registered under a former web developer. Sometimes a software subscription is tied to a personal email address. Sometimes someone created a passcode on their personal device. Sometimes nobody knows who has administrative access to a system that the entire business relies on.
The technology itself isn’t the problem.
The lack of visibility is.
A Simple Exercise
Pick three systems your business relies on every day and ask a few simple questions:
• Who owns this account?
• Who has administrative access?
• Where are the login credentials stored?
• If the primary contact disappeared tomorrow, how would we regain control?
You don’t need to perform a full audit. Just see how many of those questions you can answer confidently.
You might be surprised by the results.
Why It Matters
This isn’t really a cybersecurity issue. It’s an operational issue.
When ownership is clear, changes are easier. Vendors can be replaced. Passwords can be reset. Services can be updated. Problems can be resolved quickly.
When ownership is unclear, even simple requests can become frustratingly complicated. Something that should take fifteen minutes can take days. Or longer.
Avoiding (Not So Fun) Surprises
Many Nanaimo businesses don’t actually require a complex system documenting every piece of technology in the company. But it helps to know who owns your critical systems, who has access to them, and how that access would be recovered if needed.*
A little visibility today can prevent a lot of frustration later.
At NCI Technical, we help Nanaimo businesses understand the technology they rely on and identify gaps before they become urgent.
Technology does not need to be complicated. And it should never be a mystery who is in control of it.
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* The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security also recommends maintaining an inventory of technology assets and ensuring access to critical systems is properly managed and documented:
https://www.cyber.gc.ca/en/guidance/baseline-cyber-security-controls-small-and-medium-organizations
