One IT Manager, Massive Risk: Burnout, Sabotage and System Failures

This episode explores the risks of relying on a single IT manager as an entire IT department.

Hosts Noel Bradford and Mauven MacLeod unpack why paying one person a modest salary is not the same as buying a full team of specialists, and they share vivid real-world horror stories — from a sudden resignation that paralysed a 40-person engineering firm, to a ruined holiday when backups failed, to a marketing agency locked out by a burnt-out IT manager.

Key topics include the cost mismatch between expectations and reality, how knowledge concentration creates critical single points of failure, signs that your IT lead is drowning (long hours, no lunch breaks, defensiveness, lack of documentation), and how poor management decisions can make things worse.

Practical solutions are given: document everything, hire a competent number two rather than a trainee, engage managed service providers for specialist and 24/7 support, move critical services to cloud platforms to reduce on-site burden, and start with small, affordable steps like basic support contracts or break-fix services.

The episode includes personal anecdotes from Noel (the "Donny" and zoo-day stories) and a discussion of when to involve external help, how to create continuity plans, and three immediate actions business owners can take today.

Listeners are encouraged to have an open conversation with their IT person, assess real costs and risks, and take steps to protect both their systems and their staff from burnout and catastrophic failure.