The Essential Guide for your 2026 IT and Cyber Security Budget

Considerations for your 2026 IT and Cyber Security Budget

It's almost the start of a new fiscal year which means that many businesses are ensuring they have their 2026/2027 budgets allocated. Now more than ever it is essential that businesses prioritise their IT and Cyber Security to building resilience, maintain operational efficiency, and safeguard your business data from growing threats. 2026 will bring unique challenges and opportunities for businesses to plan for their digital futures. But what are some of the essential considerations that your business should have for your 2026 budget?
 
IT Services and IT Support
In the modern business environment, you IT is just as important, if not more so, than any of your other business utilities (Water, Gas, Electric, Telecoms). Your business IT enables your business to operate and succeed, which is why it is essential to ensure that your IT us supported and that it is supported by someone that understands how your business operates and what is important to you. IT Support is more than just fix issues; it involves consistent, proactive management of your entire IT environment. Investing in support that aligns with your operational needs helps prevent downtime and addresses potential vulnerabilities before they become a problem. At TwentyFour IT Services we understand that every business is unique, whether that be a business that works traditional 9-5 hours, or those who operate extended hours, or full 24/7 operation, we have the ability to support businesses when they need it. From day one, we work with business to not only understand what is important to them, but also what their business goals are, 6 months from now, 1 year, 3 years, 5 years and beyond. Working with businesses to ensure that they have the support and services to help them grow and succeed.

Digital Transformation: Keeping a Competitive Edge
Technology is constantly evolving, pushing forwards, with new software are hardware being released on a regular basis, ensuring that your business does not fall behind in its technology compared to its competitors is essential to maintaining a competitive edge in the future. A Gartner forecasted projects global IT spending will reach $5.74 trillion in 2025, an increase of 9.3% over 2024, highlighting the priority placed by businesses around the world on evolving technology, especially as AI tools become more prevalent for businesses. 

Additionally, transitioning to cloud platforms, adopting automation, or deploying enhanced collaborative tools are also becoming more common across all industries to streamline operations and ensure competitiveness in a rapidly changing market. Liaising with specialists like us, and budgeting for digital transformation allows organisations to keep pace with technological advancements and client expectations.

Device Lifecycle Management: Are you still using Windows 10?
2026 is going to be the year of the upgrade for many businesses still adapt to Windows 10 now being end of life, especially as an estimated 29.56% of UK PC’s/Laptops still use the 10-year-old operating system. Device lifecycle management involves planning the timely replacement or upgrade of hardware and software in line with evolving minimum specifications for common business tools. With Windows 10 now End-of-Life it is essential that businesses who are still using this legacy operating system plan to ensure that they can migrate to newer hardware which will meet minimum cyber security standards, especially if you are in a business that must adhere to Cyber Essentials, Cyber Essentials Plus, ISO27001 or other regulatory standards. Microsoft will now no longer provide free security updates for Windows 10, leaving unsupported devices exposed to potential security risks. 

Cyber Security Budget Considerations
When was the last time that your business undertook a Cyber Security Audit/Health Check? The UK Cyber Breaches Survey estimates that only 15% of UK businesses undertook a cyber security audit/health check in 2023. Cyber security audits/health checks are one of the most effective ways to evaluate your current security measures and identify potential vulnerabilities that your businesses could be facing. Audits such as these should be done at least every 12 months for businesses who do not have a cyber security provider, and on an ongoing basis for those who do, allowing organisations to benchmark their security posture and compliance with evolving industry standards. Regular audits can identify gaps and weaknesses that may otherwise go unnoticed, ensuring that you can put processes and solutions in place to strengthen your defences before cyber criminals can exploit them for their own means.

Modern Cyber Security Solutions
The number of cyber attacks UK business are facing are growing at ever increasing rates, increasing from 2.39 million in 2022, to 8.58 million in 2024. Traditional cyber security tools such as Anti-Virus Software are now no longer enough to be able to protect businesses from these increasing threats, only protecting against 30%-50% of modern threats (a number that could be far fewer based on our own internal reporting).

Investing in modern solutions such as endpoint detection and response (EDR) enhances your ability to detect, respond to, and mitigate security threats in real time. EDR uses AI and machine learning-based to detect unusual, suspicious, and malicious activity and block it in its tracks. Implementing advanced security measures such as EDR and others such as Application & Device Ringfencing, Active Email Threat Protection, Dark Web Monitoring, Multi-Factor Authentication, Zero Trust Frameworks, Web gateway Security and many others are an essential aspect of safeguarding your critical business data and infrastructure.

Cyber Security Training: You are the weakest link!
The UK Cyber Breaches survey indicates that around 96% of UK businesses were targeted in phishing attacks in 2024, and an estimated 74% of all cyber attacks involving a human element. Regular training sessions on password policies, data security recognising phishing emails, promptly reporting suspicious activities, and more, can transform employees into an effective first line of defence against these evolving threats. At TwentyFour IT Services, we work with business to provide in person training, online courses, and simulated attacks such as phishing and data collection exercises to reinforce these skills and build a security-conscious culture.

Data Protection & Backup: Are you prepared for the worst?
The data that your business holds is one of its most valuable assets, whether that be the files that you use every day, financial data, customer data, or even just your communications. Comprehensive data protection is necessity in the face of both modern cyber security threats such as ransomware and others, but also from other natural disasters such as data corruption, hardware failure or even flooding (see this article). Ensuring that your business has comprehensive backup and disaster recovery solutions in place enable rapid data restoration to replacement hardware (or even cloud environments) in the event of a data breach or accidental loss.

Additionally, incorporating immutable storage (read only encrypted backups), and frequent testing/validation into your strategy, you minimise downtime and ensure compliance with regulatory standards. Given the costs of data loss and regulatory penalties... prioritising data protection solutions is both a sensible and essential investment.

Compliance with Cyber Security Regulations and Standards
Standards and regulations such as Cyber Essentials, ISO27001, GDPR and others are becoming a crucial focus for businesses to promote that they are protecting both their and their customer/client data. Regular compliance reviews and audits (see above), as well as keeping policies up to date, help ensure alignment with these regulatory requirements. Adhering to these regulations mitigates the risk of penalties for failure of compliance, operational disruptions, and can even support your business with winning business for promoting its compliance/certification with these regulations/standards.

Securing Remote Work Environments
The rise in remote and hybrid working since 2020 has changed the nature of business security. Where businesses once had on site firewalls paired with their endpoint cyber security solutions, businesses have had to adapt to a new way of working, deploying mobile device management solutions such as Microsoft Intune, enforcing VPN connections, or embracing newer technologies such as SASE (Secure Access Service Edge) and EDR (Endpoint Detection & Response). Budgeting for these modern remote work security solutions and mobile device management solutions addresses both the technological and human elements of security, creating a more resilient distributed work environment.
 
Do you need support with your 2026 IT & Cyber Security Budget?
Preparing your 2026 IT and cyber security budget requires a proactive and comprehensive approach, especially as the digital and cyber security landscape continues to grow more complex and dangerous. By investing in IT support with a provider with a proven global record of accomplishment, modernising device infrastructure, upgrading cyber security solutions, and prioritising training and compliance, businesses can protect critical assets and support sustainable growth.

To speak with us about your IT & Cyber Security budget, fill out the form below.