Don’t bury your head in the sand. Aging IT infrastructure is more costly than upgrading it.

It’s now widely accepted by many that IT is as fundamental to a business as the accounting or legal departments. After all, without it, many businesses simply couldn’t operate. No matter what industry you’re in, it’s likely that computers will be involved in some part of the journey, if not most of it. Even ‘bricks and mortar’ businesses such as retail shops or cafes are seeing the introduction of technology change the way they operate.

Why is it then, that despite this importance and largely an acceptance of such, that some businesses are reluctant to invest in their IT systems and will try to force every last drop from out of date, physical IT infrastructure, even when it’s evident it’s time for an upgrade? Simply put – it’s cost. More precisely though it’s a fear of cost. Unfortunately, though for those businesses that fail to recognise the importance of upgrading tech, and in particular on-site hardware, what they don’t see is that the cost of persevering with aging IT infrastructure is often far more costly than the cost of merely replacing it. Why? Well, let’s look at some of those costs…

Performance Issues Cost Employees Time

Inevitably as hardware ages, it loses performance. It’s the same for your car or your washing machine. The more you use something, the less efficient it becomes. Of course, this is just part and parcel of buying something, and not something you can avoid. However, as many recognise, IT is fundamental to company output, so there comes a point whereby the time lost to performance issues just isn’t worth the financial output anymore. If staff are sat around waiting for files to download, they are literally spending time doing nothing, and you’re spending money on that. And what’s worse, is the longer it’s left like that, the more it costs.  

Businesses Can Get Stuck with Old Software

Businesses can use a range of software applications to get things done, but if a business is sticking with out-of-date hardware, there’s a good chance they won’t be able to upgrade to newer versions as they become available. This could be because the new version isn’t compatible with old hardware, or because it simply doesn’t run effectively when installed. Admittedly, some businesses might persevere with this, but then you’re in the realm of the performance issue above, waiting for something – losing money as you do.

The older something is, chances are the more likely it is to break down.

Hardware Maintenance and Repairs Cost Money

The older something is, chances are the more likely it is to break down. This isn’t a certain rule, but more often than not you’ll find it to be the case. Repairs cost money (and time!) and whilst you can maintain hardware, that incurs a cost too. This is worthwhile during the life span of a product, but once it goes beyond its sell-by date so to speak, you’re spending money trying to fix a holey barrel, especially as those billing you for such maintenance or repair work could have feasibly moved on to newer models. Similarly, as the market moves, replacement part costs often rise as a particular piece of hardware becomes dated, given there isn’t the same demand for it anymore, and production of such slows. This further increases costs. 

Older Technology Loses Its Energy Efficiency

I’m sure it wouldn’t have escaped you, but running IT hardware involves electricity, which again inevitably costs money. However, as with all other electric appliances, the energy efficiency of hardware depreciates over time. Whilst this incremental increase may not be a huge cost if you’re a small business, the more hardware you have, and the longer you allow it to age, the greater the increase will be. Using dated technology is a really easy way to burn through cash needlessly in the form of energy, especially when we talk about power-hungry servers and the like. Just consider how much your IT might be costing you to run. 

Newer Technology Is Better at Multi-Application Support

And now to the technical! Simply put multi-application support is simply how many things your hardware can handle effectively at any one time. As technology improves, the more it can do. For evidence of this, just think back to the first computer you ever used to connect to the internet. It probably found that a challenge! Now you can hop to and from different applications seamlessly, but multi-application support also applies to your infrastructure as well. As businesses grow and develop, they often ask more of their hardware, requiring it do additional tasks it may never have had to process two or three years ago adding additional strain to the tech. This as a result can lead to applications slowing down, costing time, or failing to work at all, which in any eventuality is nothing but a problem for you as a business. 

The Availability of Security Patches Decrease with Time

Whilst security might not be the sexiest reason for keeping hardware up to date it is certainly one of the most important! In simple terms, the older something is, the greater the chance of a vulnerability existing. As you have probably deduced, this isn’t good and any security breach is going to be costly, not just in relation to time or money either, but potentially from a reputational perspective also. It turns out that customers don’t like businesses that have had security breaches! Many organisations will make security patches available for a long time after production, but there comes a time when they stop and focus only on newer models. If you’ve gotten to this point with your infrastructure, it’s best you stop reading this now and put a call in to your IT department. Unpatched infrastructure, with no future support from the manufacturer, isn’t just a threat to your network, but your entire business. 

It turns out that customers don’t like businesses that have had security breaches!

Old Technology Limits Innovation

This is, without doubt, the hardest cost to quantify, but it is important nonetheless. Technology enables businesses to innovate, grow and move forward. It also allows them to create a competitive advantage and illustrate differences between themselves and their competitors. But it also works the other way. It is very hard to be innovative if you’re using technology that is ten years out of date. In short, how can you out-perform your competitor if you’re using technology that’s inferior to theirs? This isn’t to say you need to always be at the very edge of the latest developments, but rather that you shouldn’t sit behind. We know how fundamental technology is to the operation of businesses, that to neglect it is in many ways to neglect your organization. Don’t fall behind, by holding onto technology that isn’t allowing you to innovate.