Nearly every aspect of technology has experienced exponential growth since the year 2000. As co-founders of an IT company that's leveraged technological resources since day one, Vince Mayfield and Louis Erickson accepted the challenge of navigating each change and understanding the potential risks and rewards for their business and clients. Thanks to Mayfield and Erickson's commitment to approaching innovation head-on, Bit-Wizards reached its 25th anniversary in 2025.
With the technology space continuing to shift and adapt every day, this achievement is just another milestone in the company's pursuit of knowledge and growth. The benefits aren't just for our Wizards—each new development ultimately supports our clients, too. Learn what trends made the greatest impacts on businesses, how innovations continue to reshape the technology landscape, and why our Managed IT Services (MITS) team maintains a strong commitment to staying ahead of the IT curve.
What are some of the biggest tech changes since 2000?
Across the board, IT innovations that were introduced in or before the year 2000 have drastically changed from when they were first released. From personal use to business functions, technology has significantly expanded and enhanced how people operate on a day-to-day basis. Still, some inventions were especially crucial in shaping IT into what it is today.
Here are 15 technology updates that have had the most impactful effects on how businesses operate:
- E-commerce helped companies of all sizes expand their reach, from serving local areas to supporting global customers.
- Internet speeds accelerated from dial-up connections to high-speed broadband that uploads and downloads files in seconds.
- Wi-Fi expanded in range, speed, and reliability, which opened the door for connectivity in mobile devices and other equipment.
- Bluetooth quickly evolved to support higher data rates, greater distances, different source formats, and improved privacy.
- Smartphones and tablets enabled people to connect with others, access information, and make purchases at any time from their fingertips.
- Laptops and tablets became slimmer, faster, and more accessible, giving people the ability to manage tasks anywhere.
- Remote work became more popular, with traditional workplace capabilities easily transferred to homes and other locations.
- Video conferencing facilitated face-to-face meetings without having to travel across hallways, towns, or even countries.
- Cloud computing solutions became the norm, with software, infrastructure, and platforms adopting the "as-a-Service" model.
- Business continuity and disaster recovery (BCDR) grew from simple backups to all-encompassing plans that helped companies operate during outages and disasters.
- Multifactor authentication (MFA) became a less tedious, more widely used way to significantly increase account security for authorized users.
- Cybersecurity evolved from an unlikely danger from nation-states to an ever-present threat that anyone with a laptop and internet connection could commit.
- Single sign-on (SSO) expanded from limited on-prem use to broad adoption to make login processes easier and more secure.
- Compliance standards shifted from reactive measures to proactive processes that prioritized privacy and regulated sensitive data.
- Artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities exploded into personal and commercial settings, offering advancements in all facets of life.
Which IT challenges continue to affect businesses?
Every business is a technology business, meaning innovations in any subset of IT can make waves that extend across industry lines. Despite the stark difference between IT 25 years ago and today, several topics have unfailingly played a central role in how companies use technology to operate. Here are three of the biggest challenges every business will continue to face beyond 2025.
1. Consistent changes
One of the few consistent parts of life is change, and technology works similarly—new products and updates are constantly being released. With limited guidance on what trends should be adopted, which choices are best, and how to implement them, businesses can quickly fall behind. Brian Schlechter, Director of IT at Bit-Wizards, explains there's an even greater risk to diving headfirst into trends, especially in the early stages.
"There are many things in technology where you could end up choosing the wrong side of a trend, especially if you don't know how to identify the right option and time to move," he says. "Entire businesses have relied on a company's service that ends up going under, even if it seemed like the best option at the time, and those teams then have to suddenly move and come up with a new solution to survive."
2. Growing cyber threats
Cybersecurity concerns quickly shifted from Hollywood plotlines to everyday business risks, and the stakes keep getting higher. According to the 2025 Cost of a Data Breach Report from IBM, the average cost of a data breach in the U.S. is a record $10.22 million, and 65% of organizations surveyed had yet to recover fully. Schlechter shares that cyberattacks were always a concern prior to 2000, but their extreme rise in prevalence has made cybersecurity measures a top priority.
"Cyberattacks were generally limited, high-level issues conducted by nation states prior to 2000, but now anyone with an internet connection can commit cyber crimes," he says. "Multifactor authentication (MFA) and SSO used to be niche security solutions, and they've now become a necessity for every business due to the drastic increase in cyber risks."
3. Effective BCDR efforts
Businesses have worried about their longevity for decades, but a trend that has evolved into another top priority is BCDR preparedness. While the goal of recovering lost data has remained the same, the methods and preparation have become more integrated into everyday IT functions. Schlechter believes the ease and importance of creating a BCDR plan are tied to the widespread adoption of cloud infrastructure.
"Backups have always been important, but it's evolved from creating server backups to crafting comprehensive plans to keep businesses running in worst-case scenarios," he says. "With different cloud models and Software-as-a-Service applications becoming more cost-effective and available to anyone with internet, companies of all sizes can leverage them to keep their employees and customers connected."
How has Bit-Wizards navigated 25 years of IT changes?
The key behind Bit-Wizards' success in assessing and adopting IT innovations was and continues to be each Wizard's commitment to being a lifelong learner. From earning and maintaining top IT certifications to sharing new developments in the technology industry, Wizards take the knowledge-is-power approach to heart. Schlechter says the company has always stayed on top of trends and changes, with Mayfield and Erickson's decision to adopt cloud computing being a major triumph.
"Our co-founders' decision to hop on the cloud-computing train and develop services around it is one of the reasons that Bit-Wizards is as successful as it is today," he shares. "They created a culture where we naturally stay aware of trends and wait for the right time to embrace them, especially in cases where new features and functionalities could streamline what we do."
How do these efforts benefit our MITS clients?
Businesses need to stay ahead of their respective industry's changing trends in order to survive. While every company depends on technology in some way, they don't often specialize in managing and optimizing their IT infrastructure. Combined with the drastic shift in equipment and strategies from 2000 to 2025 and beyond, Schlechter says navigating the IT changes alone can be overwhelming for non-technical companies.
"I started working in IT over 25 years ago—what I did in my first year doesn't get done anymore, and what I did five years ago looks very different because of how much has changed," he explains. "If your business isn't using up-to-date resources, you can't stay functional because even the slightest shift can completely change how you work."
By working with an IT team that's dedicated to being knowledgeable and thorough, clients can leave the technical aspect of their operations to the experts. Instead of spending time worrying about how technology isn't working well enough, clients focus on what they do best because of the expert support from Bit-Wizards. From finding the right trends to making timely updates, Schlechter emphasizes that the team's efforts provide a much-needed north star that helps identify what matters to each client.
"Our background and expertise enable us to help guide our clients on the decisions they're making, whether it's figuring out whether to use AI or switch internet providers," he says. "By staying on top of technology trends, we're in a better position to help clients navigate those choices based on their company's size and industry."
Stay ahead of the IT curve with Bit-Wizards
It's one thing to work with a managed IT provider that knows what it's doing—it's a whole other experience when you work with technology experts who care about the businesses they serve. Every MITS client receives a white-glove approach to managed IT with the added benefits of empathy and kindness, which are incredibly rare traits among IT providers. Schlechter believes one of the best parts of working with Bit-Wizards is equipping your business with a team of IT professionals who treat your goals and successes as their own.
"It's important to have a good team because no single person can keep up on their own, especially when too many things are changing in too many areas," he shares. "The efficiencies and time savings you can get from technology are something that all businesses can benefit from, and our Wizards are here to translate tech speak and help you understand how IT can enhance your business to its full potential."
Ready to see how Bit-Wizards' 25 years of experience can turn your business IT from tedious to transformative? Get in touch.