Trendz³ Newsletter: Passkeys, Patches & Price Increases on Software

Ooo-wee, it's getting hot in Northwest Arkansas!

In this edition of the newsletter: passkeys, security patches, and software price increases — three topics trending hotter than an Arkansas summer. Okay, I exaggerate, but they do have major implications for your business.

As always, just reply to this newsletter if you ever have feedback. It's our goal to keep you in-the-know about the latest trends in tech impacting your business.

Sincerely,

Rob Brothers
Founding Partner
TekTrendz

Trend1 — Open Sesame. The rise of passkeys — and whether you should be using them

"Let's set up a passkey..." From Microsoft to iPhones, passkey prompts seem to be everywhere these days. But what are they exactly, and should your team set them up or stick with good ol' passwords?

Traditional passwords do leave something to be desired. They're often forgotten, guessed (especially when they're weak), stolen, and phished.

Passkeys, alternatively, are being pushed by major tech companies as a superior alternative to passwords, and many commentators believe it's only a matter of time before passkeys completely replace passwords. Why? Because unlike passwords, passkeys don't have to travel the internet (they remain on your local device) and passkeys can't be reused from one site or app to another. In a nutshell:

• You attempt to sign-in to, say, Outlook or Amazon with your user name
• If you've set up a passkey, instead of prompting you for a password, the platform sends you a mathematically-coded "challenge"
• You then enter a PIN, or scan your fingerprint or face, to unlock your device's private key — a key that is then used to generate a mathematically-coded 'signed response' to the challenge
• Finally, the platform verifies that only your private key could have generated the signed response — and, as long as it all checks out, access granted

Even if a cybercriminal were to intercept your in-transit "response" to the challenge, it would do them little good since every challenge is a unique one-time event.

So, should your team be setting up passkeys?

Short answer: Yes. But...

• Go gradually. Don't try to replace all passwords with passkeys at once

• Start with high-value accounts like banking, email, and your CRM

• Have a recovery plan in place for lost devices (and passkeys)

And, you betcha, we're here to help set up, troubleshoot, and recover passkeys.

Trend2 — SaaS-pocalypse? QuickBooks' price increase reflects a larger software industry trend (and why it matters)

With an 80% market share as recently as 2024, QuickBooks is the undisputed champ of small business accounting software. Many of our clients use it, too.

Because QB boasts a widespread user base, however, the pain from its recent price hikes is also being widely felt. For renewals on or after August 1, 2026, a monthly subscription to QB Essentials, Plus, and Advanced will increase 13%, 41% and 70%, respectively. Advanced users will go from paying $200 monthly to $340.

Not an insignificant cost hike for SMEs to absorb.

Why the price jump?

Mainly because QB is adding a flock of new AI-powered features like automated bookkeeping and business intelligence tools.

Here's the thing, though: This AI-fueled price increase isn't unique to QB. We're starting to see a similar dynamic play out across the SaaS industry generally. For instance, Microsoft's new AI-loaded 365 bundle now costs $99 per user each month (as of May), a 65% jump from its previous $60 subscription. And since SMEs can have dozens of SaaS subscriptions — we could be describing a real budget crunch here.

This trend among SaaS companies to bundle AI capabilities into their software and reprice accordinglly is at least partly tied to fear of the SaaS-pocalypse. The what? The SaaS-pocalypse, or the worry — especially among SaaS companies and investors — that AI agents will soon make traditional SaaS obsolete.

And because of this fear, SaaS companies are increasingly baking AI capabilities into their software and, er, yeah, raising prices to boot.

The bottom line for your business:

Whether you want it or not, expect SaaS firms to continue infusing their software with flashy AI capabilities. And, in turn, more price hikes in the short-term.

Trend3 — Record-breaking updates: What Microsoft's largest-ever security patch means for small businesses

You've heard of Fat Tuesday and Ruby Tuesday, but what about Patch Tuesday?

On the second Tuesday of every month, known as Patch Tuesday to tech nerds like us, Microsoft releases its latest round of security patches/updates to Windows. Think of it as a time for Microsoft to plug the security holes discovered in Windows over the past month — before salivating cybercriminals can exploit them.

Well, the June edition of Patch Tuesday was a record-breaking occasion. Microsoft fixed approximately 200 security flaws — crushing its previous record of 170 vulnerabilities set in October 2025. Some 32 of the updates were classified as "critical vulnerabilities," with three additional "zero-day" flaws (called such because info about the vulnerability was known publicly prior to any fix).

Two hugely important ramifications for small businesses across Arkansas:

• This is the new normal -— thanks to AI. A senior software engineer at Microsoft Security put it well: "AI-assisted vulnerability discovery...is compressing the timeline between ‘a bug exists’ and ‘bug is found’ dramatically." Good news when this power is in Microsoft's hands; bad news when it's in cybercriminals' hands. AI has changed the cybersecurity cat-and-mouse game. The mice must adapt.
• Small businesses — which often feel immune to cyberattack but are actually more vulnerable due to weak defenses — are often slower to patch. But at a time when bad actors can locate and exploit security flaws faster and more precisely, procrastination simply is not an option. Your best defense: patch regularly and immediately. Don't wait. Time is not on your side.

And lean on us, your IT partner, to meet every Patch Tuesday with confidence.

Handy-Dandy Directory: Which Platforms Actually Support Passkey Sign-On?

Okay, so passkeys are a safer form of sign-on — we've established that. But which platforms currently support them? Passkeys.directory offers a quick, entirely free way to find sites and apps with a passkey sign-in option — from Google and Amazon to your personal bank. Take a look...

See Which Platforms Support Passkeys

The NWA Tech Summit Returns September 1 With a Heavy Focus on Agentic AI

We know agentic AI — that is, AI that actually completes actions on your behalf (e.g., drafting, publishing, sending) — is taking the business world by storm. We also know it's an emerging (not to mention confusing) space for many of us.

This year's NWA Tech Summit, though, looks to shine the light on agentic AI.

Business leaders and tech professionals will converge on The Ledger in Bentonville, Tuesday, September 1, 8 a.m.-4 p.m., to discuss the now and later, ins and outs of agentic AI and many other topics relevant to doing business in NWA.

Past summits have drawn visitors from 32 states and almost 500 companies.  

Click Here to Learn More or Buy Tickets

Articles We're Reading...

Here's four articles we've read recently with important implications for small business — and their technology, productivity, and/or cybersecurity.

• Arkansas cyberattack: Teacher charged $1 million by Blytheville hotel for one-night stay
• Foxnews.com: Beware! Highly convincing AI scams can clone family members' voices
• How Microsoft Teams and Google Drive are being used to compromise systems within 20 minutes
• World Cup cyberattack? Team Argentina claims hackers responsible for "did not win" email

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Trendz³ is a free, monthly email newsletter from TekTrendz, created exclusively for small businesses of Northwest Arkansas. Once a month, the Trendz³ newsletter will provide you with a quick rundown of the three most pressing trends in technology, cybersecurity, and IT — that you really need to know. We'll also share helpful resources and news along the way.

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