An IT audit from Listonics is a fixed-scope review of an office's network, devices, cloud tenant, backup and security, carried out on site and written up as a report ranked by risk. It is the right first step before changing provider, moving office, renewing an AMC or buying equipment. Projects run from AED 2,500 to AED 30,000 depending on requirement.
Part of our guide to IT Support Dubai.
What is an IT audit, and when does an office need one?
An IT audit is a structured look at everything the office depends on, by someone with no stake in the answer, ending in a document you can act on. Not a sales visit that concludes you need whatever the visitor sells, and not a compliance tick-box, but an engineer's honest account of how the IT is actually set up, where it will fail, and what fixing it would take.
Offices usually ask for one at a turning point. A new manager inherits IT nobody can explain. The support provider is being changed and the incoming firm needs a baseline. A move or fit-out is coming and the plan needs a starting point. An insurer, auditor or client has asked questions nobody can answer. Or something has already gone wrong and the question is how much else is like it. Our IT health check checklist is the self-service version; the audit is the same exercise done properly, by us, with the findings written down.
What does a Listonics IT audit cover?
Six areas, each reviewed against what a well-run office of your size should have rather than against an enterprise standard you will never need. We look at the network and Wi-Fi as it is cabled and configured, not as the diagram says. We check every device for supported operating systems, patch state, encryption and endpoint protection. We review the Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace tenant: admin accounts, multi-factor authentication, sharing settings, licences in use and licences wasted.
Backup gets its own section because it is where most offices are exposed: what is backed up, where the copy lives, how long it is kept and, decisively, when it was last restored. Security is reviewed against the CIS Critical Security Controls at the level meant for small organisations, which is a practical checklist rather than a framework. Finally we look at the paperwork: documentation, passwords held by whom, contracts, renewals and what would happen if the current provider disappeared tomorrow.
- Network and Wi-Fi: cabling, switching, firewall, Wi-Fi coverage and segmentation.
- Devices: operating system support, patching, encryption, endpoint protection, asset list.
- Cloud tenant: admin accounts, MFA, sharing, licence use, mail security.
- Backup: scope, location, retention and the date of the last tested restore.
- Security: reviewed against the CIS controls for small organisations.
- Documentation and dependencies: passwords, contracts, renewals, single points of failure.
What does the report look like?
A short document, written for the person who will decide rather than the engineer who will implement. Each finding is described in one paragraph, rated on a simple scale of critical, high, medium and low, and paired with a recommended fix and an indication of effort. The findings are ordered by risk, so the first page tells you what to do this week and the last page tells you what can wait until the next budget.
It also records what is fine. An office that has been told for years that everything needs replacing deserves to know which parts are sound, and the next provider deserves a baseline to work from. Where a finding leads to a project, we price it separately so the audit stands on its own and you can take the report anywhere.
How is an IT audit different from a cyber security audit?
Scope. The IT audit covers everything the office runs on: network, devices, cloud, backup, documentation and the people dependencies, with security as one of six areas. A cyber security audit goes deeper on that one area: identity, email threats, device hardening, the perimeter and how the office would respond to an incident, measured against a security standard. Offices that need both usually start with the IT audit, because a security review of an undocumented, unpatched estate produces a very long list of things the IT audit would have found faster.
The cyber security audit page explains the deeper review. If you are unsure which you need, the answer is normally decided by who is asking: a manager who wants to understand the IT wants the IT audit; an insurer, regulator or client questionnaire usually wants the security one.
What does an IT audit cost in Dubai?
An IT audit is a fixed price agreed before the visit, based on the number of staff, sites and systems rather than on time spent, so a long day on site does not produce a surprise. Listonics projects run from AED 2,500 to AED 30,000 depending on requirement, and an audit for a single small office sits at the lower end of that range. Multi-site businesses, offices with a server room, or reviews that must produce evidence for a regulator or insurer sit higher.
Where an audit leads to work, the audit fee is not a deposit and the report is not a quote in disguise. You can hand the document to any provider. Many clients do use it as the scope for a stabilisation project or a managed IT support agreement with us, because the same engineer already knows the office, but that is a choice rather than a condition.
How does the audit run, and how long does it take?
A short call to agree scope and access, then a site visit of half a day to a full day for a typical office, during which the engineer works around staff rather than through them. Remote review of the cloud tenant and backup follows, and the report is delivered within a week of the visit with a walkthrough call to explain the findings. Nothing is changed during the audit; it is a look, not a fix, so there is no risk to the working day.
For a business preparing to change provider, we time the audit so the report lands before the notice period starts, which gives the incoming firm a baseline and the outgoing one a clear list of what to hand over. Our changing IT support provider guide covers that sequence.
Why choose Listonics for an IT audit in Dubai?
Because we do the work the audit describes every day. We set up offices, run networks, manage Microsoft 365 tenants and test backups, so the findings come from an engineer who has fixed the same problems elsewhere rather than from a checklist. Reports are written to be read, priced to stand alone, and honest about what is fine. If you would like to see the shape of one before booking, ask and we will send a redacted example.
Frequently asked questions
It is quoted as a fixed price before the visit, based on staff, sites and systems rather than hours. Listonics projects run from AED 2,500 to AED 30,000 depending on requirement, with a single small office audit at the lower end and multi-site or evidence-grade reviews higher. The fee is not a deposit against later work.
For a typical Dubai office, half a day to a full day on site, followed by remote review of the cloud tenant and backup. The written report arrives within a week of the visit, with a call to walk through the findings. Nothing is changed during the audit, so the working day is not disrupted.
Someone who can grant access and answer questions about how the office works should be available, usually the office manager and whoever holds the administrator passwords. Staff carry on as normal. Where the current IT provider holds the credentials, we ask for them in advance so the visit is not spent waiting.
No. An audit is observation and review, not remediation. The engineer reads configurations, checks devices and tests backups by restoring to a separate location, but does not alter settings. Any fixes are proposed in the report and carried out only if you commission them, by us or by anyone else.
No. The IT audit covers the whole estate with security as one of six areas. The cyber security audit goes deeper on security alone, against a recognised standard, and is usually what insurers or client questionnaires want. Offices needing both normally start with the IT audit so the security review inherits a documented, patched baseline.
Yes. The report is written to stand alone, with findings, ratings and recommended fixes in plain language, and you own it. Many clients use it as the handover document when changing provider or as the scope for a competitive quote. Any project pricing from Listonics is provided separately so the audit is never a quote in disguise.
Written by Srinivasan Ramachandran, Founder, Listonics · Last reviewed October 8, 2026