Preferred Blog

When I talk with business owners about their IT challenges, the conversation often starts with what’s broken: the outage that halted operations, the cybersecurity scare that rattled the team, or the systems that can’t keep up with growth. Those moments feel urgent because they are. But they’re also symptoms of something deeper, and it’s a hard truth I’ve seen play out again and again: reactive IT is simply too expensive and too risky for today’s business landscape.

When people ask what it’s like to lead an IT and cybersecurity firm, they often expect me to start with the technical side of the business. But for me, the story of Preferred has always started somewhere much more personal.

Technology matters, of course, but it exists for one reason: to support the people who rely on it every day. That belief has guided me since the day we started this company more than 35 years ago, and it continues to shape how we operate, how we serve, and how we define success.

When it comes to cyber insurance, most business leaders assume they’re protected… until they try to file a claim. The truth is, cyber insurance has changed dramatically in the last few years. 

Carriers are tightening requirements, premiums are rising, and companies that once qualified for coverage are suddenly finding themselves denied or underinsured.

If you’re not sure where you stand, now is the time to find out. Because when a breach happens, and statistically, it will, the difference between being covered and being exposed comes down to readiness.

For many small and mid-sized businesses, cybersecurity once felt like something for the “big guys.” You had antivirus software, ran updates occasionally, and assumed your data was too small to attract attention. But that illusion is gone.

Today, cybersecurity is no longer optional; it’s essential for survival. Cyberattacks on SMBs have exploded, insurance and compliance requirements have tightened, and one data breach can derail years of hard work.

If you’re still treating security as an afterthought, it’s time to rethink your strategy.

For most law firms, compliance feels like a necessary headache, something you manage just to avoid penalties, not something that helps you win clients. But what if the very systems and safeguards you put in place to stay compliant could also become one of your strongest differentiators?

When implemented strategically, compliance does more than keep regulators happy. It can demonstrate your firm’s professionalism, build trust with clients, and even enhance your operational efficiency.

In a profession where reputation and confidentiality are everything, compliance offers necessary defense and, the way we see it, opportunity.