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The return from the summer holidays is the time of year when IT infrastructure reveals everything that was left on autopilot during August. Laptops that will not start after a month switched off, a server that rebooted on its own without anyone noticing, the summer intern's account still active, the Wi-Fi that coped with ten people and gives way when fifty come back. None of this is unpredictable. This five-day plan puts everything in order and uses September to prepare the decisions for 2027.
Day 1 — Devices that have been switched off
A month switched off means accumulated updates for Windows, Office and antivirus. Switch devices on before people return and let them update out of hours, so the first morning is not lost staring at “updating 3 of 12”.
- Batteries Check laptops that were left fully discharged.
- Old disks September is the month with the most start-up failures.
- Updates in groups Never all workstations on the same night; if something fails, it affects one group and not the whole company.
- Windows 10 If it is still around, it is time to act: support ended in October 2025.
Day 2 — Servers and proof of restore
Check pending updates, outstanding reboots and the August logs: ignored alerts, unexpected reboots, disks filling up. Then the most important part: did the backups run every day? Did any fail without anyone seeing?
“I didn't get any alerts” may simply mean nobody received them. Open the backup software log and restore a file and a mailbox as a test. See how a managed backup with tested restores works.
Day 3 — Accounts, access and MFA
Interns, temporary staff and holiday cover leave a trail. Compare the list of active users with the September staff list and disable the differences the same day.
- Temporary accounts Disabled?
- Permissions to folders and management software Removed?
- Suppliers with VPN Does whoever worked on systems in August still have access?
- MFA Active on every account, especially those created in a hurry in June. Read about multi-factor authentication.
Day 4 — Licences, subscriptions and the 2027 budget
Count the Microsoft 365 licences assigned to accounts that no longer exist, the subscriptions taken out “just for the summer” that are still being charged, and the contracts that renew in October or November and can still be renegotiated.
September and October are the months when next year's budget is finalised. With an up-to-date inventory, list what expires in 2027 (Windows Server 2016 in January, equipment reaching end of warranty, contracts), what the company will need and what can move to a fixed cost. It is not too late: equipment and server renewals require delivery times and migration windows planned months in advance. Full guide: IT budget for 2027.
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Day 5 — Network, enterprise Wi-Fi and security with the full team
Leave the network for the end of the week, when everyone is back and the real problem can be measured. If there were Wi-Fi complaints in June, they will come back: a coverage survey solves it before it becomes routine. See why company Wi-Fi fails. And if the summer ran on a single internet connection, that was luck, not planning.
Summer is high season for phishing: fewer people, more stand-ins, more haste. Review the suspicious emails that arrived, update the firewall firmware and security signatures (subscriptions expire silently) and schedule the awareness session for the second half of the month. The cybersecurity checklist for SMEs sums up the essentials.
Processes that September puts to the test
Anyone joining in September needs an account, equipment and access on day one. Anyone who left in August needs their account disabled and their equipment returned and checked. If these procedures are not written down, now is the time to create them: they are part of the seven internal cybersecurity policies every company should have.
What changes with managed IT services
For clients with an IT Unlimited contract, most of this list does not wait for September. Updates run in scheduled windows, the licence inventory is part of the monthly report and the 24/7 monitoring in Premium 365 detects reboots and failed backups in August. What is left for September is the conversation about 2027.
Frequently asked questions
Why are there more failures in September?
Devices switched off for weeks, especially laptops with discharged batteries and old disks, fail more often at start-up. Accumulated updates also expose latent problems.
Should I run all the updates at once?
Yes, but outside working hours and in groups of workstations, to limit the impact of a problematic update.
How do I confirm the August backups?
Through the backup software log, day by day, and with a restore test of a file and a mailbox.
Is September too late to budget for 2027?
No, it is the right moment: replacing servers and equipment takes months of preparation.
Next step: we go through this list with you
We work through the plan with your team, resolve whatever is outstanding and deliver in writing what should go into the 2027 budget. No-obligation proposal. More than 10 workstations · support contract · remote, on-site and telephone support.
Telephone: +351 211 459 950* · Email: sales@dataroad.pt
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