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
"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:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
And lean on us, your IT partner, to meet every Patch Tuesday with confidence.
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
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.
Here's four articles we've read recently with important implications for small business — and their technology, productivity, and/or cybersecurity.
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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