We’re always being told to upgrade to the next latest and greatest technology, whether it’s a new phone, computer or car. Sometimes being the first to upgrade can backfire (literally), just ask the people who bought a Samsung Note 7.
However, there are advantages to being an early adopter; you can get a headstart on your industry, increase productivity and position your business as innovative and ahead of the curve.
Eventually everyone comes to a point when they need to upgrade their technology, but the million dollar question is when is it time to upgrade?
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When you become vulnerable to hackers
Using old technology opens up your business to massive risks, either from security holes that aren’t being fixed, or the risk of software crashing and losing data because of incompatibility.
Software is continuously being updated to fix security problems or vulnerabilities that malware or a virus could exploit. Having old software in your business could mean you’re an easy target for a hacker looking for a way in.
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When you run out of support
Not only does using obsolete technology stop you from receiving the latest updates, it means other vendors can’t support their software that you are running on old technology. For example, MYOB won’t offer support if you’re running their software on Windows Server 2008r2 as they can’t guarantee their updates will be compatible.
If something goes wrong you’re on your own.
The following are ending support this year:
- Windows 7 (all versions)
- Microsoft Office 2010 (all versions)
- Windows Server 2008r2 (all versions)
- Small Business Server 2011 (SBS)
- Microsoft SQL Server 2008r2
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When productivity decreases
As your software and hardware get older they get slower, and harder to use. The harder they are to use the slower staff can perform their duties and the faster you lose money.
It also means your business isn’t utilising the best technology and staff may be struggling to use slow and frustrating software that is sapping productivity and causing mistakes. Technology should allow your business to become more efficient and make processes easier, not slow everything down and cause massive headaches.
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When you’re losing money
If your staff are having to sit around and twiddle their thumbs because they can’t login or are waiting for updates your business is quite literally pouring money down the drain. Seriously, we’ve done the math!
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