Why "Dave from IT" is Your Business's Biggest Security Risk in 2025

Cyber Security for Small BusinessesPodcastRisk Management
Written By Noel Bradford

What do you think is the most expensive mistake small businesses make with IT?

Not backing up? Close, but not quite.

Paying £50,000 a year for a standalone IT manager and expecting them to deliver £400,000 worth of expertise.

Pull up a chair. We need to talk about Dave from IT.

The Dave Delusion

Every small business has one. The IT manager with "Dave" on his business card (and yes, we're using Dave as a catch-all, regardless of gender or actual name). One person trying to be the entire IT department.

Dave's responsible for everything from strategic IT planning to fixing the printer that's jammed again. The business owner thinks they've got IT sorted. "Dave's our IT manager. Job done."

Here's the problem: Dave's trying to be everything to everyone, and it's mental.

The Impossible Job Description

Let's break down what you're actually asking Dave to do for that £50k salary:

  • Network administrator (£45k minimum)

  • Cyber security specialist (£55k starting)

  • Help desk manager (£35k)

  • Systems architect (£60k plus)

  • Strategic IT consultant (£80k if you're lucky)

  • Cloud specialist (£70k)

  • Compliance expert (£65k)

  • Data protection officer (£50k just for GDPR)

That's nearly £400,000 worth of specialised roles. And you think Dave should handle all of it for £50,000.

Then you have the cheek to moan that Dave's expensive.

The Single Point of Failure Reality

When your entire IT strategy depends on one person, you're not getting enterprise-level expertise. You're getting one person trying desperately to keep all the plates spinning while being interrupted every five minutes because someone can't print a PDF.

Dave might be brilliant at servers but shaky on cybersecurity. Excellent with networks but not so hot on cloud strategy. They know enough to be helpful but not enough to avoid the hazardous stuff.

And what happens when Dave finally cracks? Because they will. The workload isn't sustainable, the stress is mounting, and that single point of failure is about to snap.

The Wake-Up Call

I've been cleaning up Dave disasters for over 30 years. Every single one could have been avoided with proper planning, proper support, and recognising that one person cannot be responsible for everything.

Your business deserves better than hoping Dave can figure everything out alone. Your customers deserve better. Hell, Dave deserves better.

Action Items:

  1. Document everything Dave does (get help to do it, don't add to Dave's workload)

  2. Calculate the real cost of Dave working 60-hour weeks and burning out

  3. Start the conversation with Dave about getting professional backup

  4. Consider cloud-based solutions to reduce the technical burden

  5. Look into MSP support for emergencies and specialist expertise

The single IT manager model is a business risk masquerading as cost savings. Time to fix it before it fixes you.

Noel Bradford

Noel Bradford – Head of Technology at Equate Group, Professional Bullshit Detector, and Full-Time IT Cynic

As Head of Technology at Equate Group, my job description is technically “keeping the lights on,” but in reality, it’s more like “stopping people from setting their own house on fire.” With over 40 years in tech, I’ve seen every IT horror story imaginable—most of them self-inflicted by people who think cybersecurity is just installing antivirus and praying to Saint Norton.

I specialise in cybersecurity for UK businesses, which usually means explaining the difference between ‘MFA’ and ‘WTF’ to directors who still write their passwords on Post-it notes. On Tuesdays, I also help further education colleges navigate Cyber Essentials certification, a process so unnecessarily painful it makes root canal surgery look fun.

My natural habitat? Server rooms held together with zip ties and misplaced optimism, where every cable run is a “temporary fix” from 2012. My mortal enemies? Unmanaged switches, backups that only exist in someone’s imagination, and users who think clicking “Enable Macros” is just fine because it makes the spreadsheet work.

I’m blunt, sarcastic, and genuinely allergic to bullshit. If you want gentle hand-holding and reassuring corporate waffle, you’re in the wrong place. If you want someone who’ll fix your IT, tell you exactly why it broke, and throw in some unsolicited life advice, I’m your man.

Technology isn’t hard. People make it hard. And they make me drink.

https://noelbradford.com
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