The right technology can help your business grow, save money, and become more secure and efficient. But no technology lasts forever — hardware ages and software becomes obsolete next to newer and more powerful programs. Once your technology starts to show its age or begins to lose most of its utility, it's time to start thinking about upgrading.
Upgrading, however, requires careful consideration and timing. You don't want to be stuck with outdated technology, but you also don't want to spend money on something you'll need to replace soon. Here are five signs it's time to upgrade your business’s technology:
1. High repair costs
When your business's tech is new, it's much more cost-effective to repair instead of replacing them when they malfunction. But as devices get older, they become more and more prone to breaking down. Eventually, the frequency of repairs will cause the costs to balloon, sometimes even exceeding the price of a new device altogether.
Worse still, finding parts becomes more difficult and expensive the older your equipment gets. For instance, your 10-year-old printer and its spare parts may have already been phased out by their manufacturers. Instead of wasting your time and money on hunting down parts, it’s more cost effective to simply upgrade to a brand-new printer.
2. High energy costs
Thanks to the growing emphasis on sustainability, manufacturers have been designing their products to be increasingly energy-efficient over the years. This means that if you stick to legacy hardware, you're likely missing out on the energy-saving benefits of newer technology.
To illustrate, LCD monitors consume three to five times less power than older and bulkier CRT monitors, depending on their size. LED monitors, on the other hand, use even less energy than LCDs, although these may be more expensive upfront.
3. Software incompatibilities
Your business's processes will typically become more complex over time. Eventually, you'll have to rely on newer and more powerful software to automate certain tasks and manage your data more effectively.
Unfortunately, newer software programs don't just have more varied capabilities than older versions, but they are also often built using different coding languages and designed with updated system requirements. Therefore, older software may not integrate well with them and legacy computers may not be able to run them properly, if at all. In order to maximize these programs' full benefits, you'll need to upgrade some of your business's technology as well.
4. Cyber incidents
A cyberattack can happen for several reasons, one of which is an overdependence on legacy systems. Cyberthreats evolve and over time, the security features of your years-old hardware and software may no longer be able to keep up.
A common cyberthreat that has only become worse over the years is ransomware. Not only do newer variants of this threat prevent victims from accessing data, but they can also steal information. To protect your business's data, you should upgrade to anti-malware solutions that offer ransomware protection. You should also invest in computers and other devices which support hardware encryption, which makes data unusable to thieves without a decryption key.
5. Inadequate capabilities
As your business grows, so do its needs. Needless to say, the technologies you use must be able to meet these changing requirements. If your technology can no longer keep up, then it's time to invest in more powerful tools that have the features and capabilities to do so.
If your technology can no longer keep up, then it's time to invest in more powerful tools that have the features and capabilities to do so.
For example, a single on-premises server may suffice for storing data when your business is new and you have a few customers. But as your clientele grows, you will need not just greater storage space, but also better ways to secure your files. Thus, you may want to buy more servers or, better yet, invest in a hybrid cloud setup. A hybrid cloud not only allows you to easily scale up on storage space, but also improves your company’s agility and cybersecurity. What's more, it can make data storage costs easier on your business's finances.
Upgrading your technology can help your business cut costs and become more efficient, secure, and competitive. But upgrading blindly can be just as harmful as not upgrading at all, so it's best to seek the help of IT experts at Quicktech. We will assess your business's budget and unique needs and recommend solutions that are best aligned with your requirements.
Discover the other ways in which we can help your business when you download this free eBook today.