Most people admit that their investments in technology can be few and far between. When did you last invest in new technology for your company? Recently? Years ago?
Most businesses have a mixture of old and new technology with an unwritten rule of replacing equipment and software when it has become outdated or when systems break down. This is usually due to the belief that a wholesale change would cause too much disruption, whereas making a gradual change would be the more appealing option. More than likely there is a piece of hardware or software that is ageing and is in desperate need of replacement, but you just haven’t got round to it yet.
A lot of business owners put off investing in new technology and there are a number of reasons why:
Cost
Some are concerned about the financial investment that comes with replacing ageing technology. Business owners are right to be concerned, in 2020 businesses worldwide spent ‘2 trillion dollars’ ¹ on digital transformations – a truly staggering figure.
A loss of productivity
Business owners are understandably concerned about the time taken to update hardware and software. ‘65% of business owners think they are prepared for the digital transformations that are going to take place over the next few years’² but that does leave 35% that aren’t certain. Also, your team needs to be trained on how to use the new technology effectively, which is also time consuming and a difficult task to undertake.
Fear
It is natural to want to keep things the same, and reluctance to change out of fear of problems arising is understandable. Change can disrupt the balance of your business so many business owners instead opt to stick with old systems for as long as possible.
If it isn’t broken don’t fix it
Many business owners have this attitude. If, in the eye of the business owner, the old technology is working correctly they will often wait to replace it until it is completely broken in a bid to save as much money as possible. However, this results in loss of production while your tech is replaced!
But what is often not common knowledge is that not updating your old technology is potentially costing your business far more time and money than it’s saving!
Old technology has one major downfall - the loss of productivity. It is generally slower and, in the worst-case scenario, will crash and have issues with functioning the way it was intended to. Once a computer is running slowly or crashing it is easy for everyone to see the negative impacts of it, but there are other ‘hidden’ issues that often arise as a direct consequence of using dated tech.
The hidden issues of old technology in your business
Higher costs
Environmental changes are all over the news every day. Perhaps this constant publicity has led to you wanting to reduce your energy consumption, or perhaps it’s the energy costs you want to reduce. Look at your old technology - old systems don’t have the power-saving capabilities and features that newer technology does. This means that if your office is full of old tech then investing in newer devices could have a dramatic difference to energy costs in the organisation.
As we know, when everything is running efficiently you save on staffing costs too. Better technology means more reliance on it which - in turn - means less staff. The correct tools have the power to boost levels of productivity within your team. A popular example would be the adoption of Microsoft Teams, one of the latest applications in Microsoft’s suite of tools and, as one of the most popular applications in the world, Teams has over 115 million daily active users that reap the benefits of the application (helping them achieve advanced levels of communication, collaboration, and in turn productivity). The use of your employees’ resources can be made more efficient with the help of Teams.
Ignored business processes
As you know already, for a business to be successful it is reliant on its staff team following a clear and concise set of processes. IT that doesn’t work properly can force employees to find different ways of achieving their goals by taking ‘shortcuts’, forcing them away from tried and tested business processes.
Of course, with this change happening ‘on a whim’, the unapproved process quickly opens the door to problems. This small change to a certain part of the process can mean wholesale changes to another part and can then allow you to easily lose control of everyday work processes altogether.
Expensive fixes
Your business needs an IT strategy that is laid out and organised. This will allow you to allocate a part of your annual budget for hardware and software upgrades so that you can stay in control of your costs and not be shocked by any sudden – expensive – surprises.
When a piece of equipment fails and your business can no longer operate, it’s likely that you’ll have to seek emergency IT support. This is almost guaranteed to be more expensive than pre-planned preventative support, as the outcome will likely – depending on the age of your equipment – mean purchasing replacements. If this is done in a rush – which it is likely to be to ensure you can continue trading – you may end up getting a tool that ‘does the job’ but is by no means the best option on the market for you or your company.
No flexibility
Due to technological advancements over recent years, and more predominantly, the onset of Covid-19 early last year, businesses across the globe have been making a transition to remote working. A key ingredient in making this a success was having the latest technology in place - businesses that had already invested in newer technology found this rapid change to remote working much more seamless in comparison to those that didn’t.
Flexible working is showing no signs of slowing down in coming years - if anything, flexibility is going to become even more predominant. Businesses across the globe have fully taken the idea of remote working under their wing and have introduced flexible working policies in order to guarantee its success going forward. This allows team members to work from home, on premise, or on the go without having to sacrifice productivity, as the practice of flexible working has, in fact, been proven to boost productivity and employee wellbeing.
With this clear and obvious change to the way everyone is going to be working, you need to be confident that your system, hardware, and devices are functional and - most importantly – secure when using them from a remote setting. Older technology doesn’t have the functionality or provide the security needed to work flexibly effectively; this is because they were not designed with remote working in mind. It is imperative to update your old technology to allow your team to reap the benefits and flexibility of remote working.
A loss of customers
Old technology can lead you to lose customers in many ways. Let’s list some of them now:
- With older technology you are more likely to succumb to a security breach. If your data is compromised during this security breach it is very possible that your customers will lose faith in your ability to protect their data and likely stop using your services.
- Old technology – as previously mentioned – can cause your devices to run very slowly. This may mean that you cannot communicate with customers in a timely manner or that you can’t process orders as quickly as promised, causing customers to look for a better experience and quality of service elsewhere.
- Slow tech can have a serious detrimental effect on the relationship you have with your clients and the quality of service you are able to offer. If a customer contacts you with a query and – due to the slow devices – you are forced to tell them that ‘you will get back to them’ this doesn’t reflect well on your business. With efficient systems you will be able to give them an instant answer to their query and project a good image of your business to them.
Again, as we explored earlier, the modern world is all about ease - if your competitors offer a quicker, more efficient service then your customers are more than likely going to use them instead.
Security risks
The advancements in technology – and the onset of Covid-19 – has led to a massive increase in the number of cyber attacks happening worldwide. According to Mimecast ‘more than 6 in 10 companies suffered a Ransomware attack last year’ and there has been a ‘64% increase in email threats in 2020’¹. This number is continually rising and, no matter the size of your business, you are not safe. If anything, small to medium businesses are more likely to be attacked due to the fact they don’t have the resources to invest in advanced cyber security solutions and are therefore more likely to have gaps in their security strategies which can be infiltrated.
Technology is always evolving, and this evolution is mirrored by the cyber criminals’ methods of penetrating your systems. Using old technology leaves you woefully unprepared in case of a cyber attack. Hardware and software developers are constantly working to beat cyber criminals and keep up with new security demands, protecting you and your team from cyber attack. The latest version of any technology will be the best equipped to protect your business from security threats.
Outdated technology will not have any chance of protecting you from modern emerging cyber threats. Outdated systems are often no longer supported by the company that created them and this makes them more vulnerable, as with no security updates new issues are not remedied and it’s unlikely that you will ever be able to plug the hole until it is too late.
Does your organisation handle customer data? Most do, and if that is the case you have an even greater responsibility to ensure customers’ information is kept safe. There are many viruses that are created with the sole purpose of stealing your information, and if data is stolen by cyber criminals it can mean huge fines as well as losing your hard-earned reputation with your customers.
Lost opportunities
As you know, for a business to be successful you must be agile and ready to take on new opportunities for revenue wherever possible. This simply isn’t possible if you’re busy fixing IT problems or resolving the issues caused by old tech.
There are many new start-up systems that work very efficiently and give customers exactly what they need and with a better quality of service. By sticking with old systems and technology you are running the risk of being left behind by the competition, some of which aren’t even working to your current standards yet.
Stress
Depending on the personalities that you have within your organisation, your team may be very vocal about the issues being caused by old technology or they may stay quiet and grin and bear it to get the job done with as little fuss as possible. Whichever is the case, having IT problems will inevitably put a strain on your team.
We all know how frustrating it is and how much stress it can cause when you are unable to do your job efficiently. It can cause many problems - deadlines could be missed, team members may become anxious about letting their colleagues down, and there is an overall feeling of helplessness when systems don’t work as intended. The weight of this pressure can cause staff to become less productive, less motivated, and far more likely to take time off sick, further increasing the amount of lost hours.
On the other hand, when tech is up-to-date the opposite happens, productivity and morale both rise. It is imperative to make your team’s day as productive as possible - not just for you but for them as well. Spending the day battling through an onslaught of IT issues is good for no one - by giving your team the right platform they can invest their time in profitable activities.
Now we know the issues with outdated tech let’s explore how often you should replace your IT to ensure you’re always getting the most from it in the most cost-effective way.
How often should you replace old tech?
This question needs to be broken down to answer, as it all depends on the particular piece of equipment or software system.
Office laptops
It is recommended that you replace laptops roughly every three years. If you are not sure if your laptops need replacing or have any concerns about what laptop to purchase as a replacement your IT support provider will be able to advise you.
Operating systems
Make sure your staff keep on top of updates! It is imperative to update your operating systems as and when prompted by the provider. Understandably, it can be tempting to ‘postpone’ them when you are incredibly busy or want to get on with another important task, but their importance cannot be understated. It is imperative to keep up-to-date with them as they can create much better time-saving benefits throughout the day.
Be sure to check the operating system you’re using is the latest version. Always use the latest version or at the very least the one prior to this – any further behind and you are leaving yourself vulnerable to unnecessary risk.
Office desktops
Desktop computers last a similar time to Laptops - three years is the recommended maximum time to leave between upgrades. This is usually in line with the recommended warranty from the manufacturer. Your IT provider will also be able to assist you with this change.
Let’s look at the best way to ensure your technology is always up-to-date.
The best way to guarantee your tech is always up to date.
The best way to ensure that your old technology doesn’t cause issues for your organisation is to partner with a capable IT support provider. A proactive IT provider will continually monitor your systems, applications, and software, ensuring that they are always kept up-to-date so you don’t have to waste your time doing so. You will be alerted when device health begins to potentially cause a problem, giving you time to remedy it. Keeping track of how up-to-date you are will all be done for you, preventing any of the issues mentioned above from impacting your business.
That is where we come in!
Your proactive IT support specialists
Our team of experts can offer all of the above and more. We will take time getting to know you, your team, the way you like to do business, and your goals and visions for the future. Our team of experts will work together with you to find a cyber strategy that compliments the way you do business and ensures that you are constantly up-to-date with the latest tech that is beneficial to you. We will also educate your team to be sure that they understand the strategy and are fully equipped to use the tools to their full capabilities. With our help you can go into the future confident that your systems are up-to-date, fit for purpose, and secure.
¹ https://www.forbes.com/sites/blakemorgan/2019/12/16/100-stats-on-digital-transformation-and-customer-experience/?sh=467602863bf3
