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An up to date IT system is fundamental to any business, but understanding what to upgrade and when is often a huge challenge.
[/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]It’s a common problem in organisations around the world – slow, outdated computer systems leading to downtime, decreased outputs and cyber-attacks. So why do so many businesses choose to leave upgrades until it’s too late?
In many cases it comes down to confidence. Humans have an in-built resistance to change, and having to implement a brand new system will shiny new ways of working can seem like too much hassle. Then there’s the fact that big business decision needs to be justifiable to board members and staff, which is particularly challenging to those who aren’t au fait with all things IT.
It’s a fast-paced, ever changing landscape, so it’s easy to get caught out by service providers who claim to be offering the next best thing in business technology only to fall short of their promises. Often, the preferred approach is to just bury heads in the sand and plod along with what’s already there instead of wasting time and money on something that could cause too much organisational upheaval.
The good news is that with the right partner, IT upgrades can go perfectly smoothly; vastly improving operations without even causing so much as a blip in productivity. It begins with a thorough assessment of your organisational needs and a detailed inventory of your current hardware and software. This should include things like:
- Operating systems
- Servers
- Desktops, laptops and mobile devices
- CPU, hard drive and memory capacity
- Year of purchase
- Software installations
- Warranties and support contracts
Once you know what you need to upgrade, you can then consider your options. Some companies choose to go for a quick fix by upgrading key components and adding additional memory and storage space. Others choose to buy new on-site hardware installed with up-to-date software. But the most popular decision by far is moving operations to the Cloud – 88% of companies now use virtual computing in some form, and it’s by far the most flexible, scalable way to work. Cloud computing also offers huge cost benefits too, because there’s no need to keep expensive hardware like servers on-site. There’s also significant savings to be made on maintenance, licensing and renewal fees too, not to mention IT staffing costs.
Failing to upgrade is bad news
The “head in the sand” approach has disastrous consequences for companies, because cyber criminals are always on the lookout for vulnerabilities. Outdated systems are much easier to infiltrate, and if a cyber attack does happen the likelihood of full recovery is slim at best. With the GDPR in full swing and the first fines starting to be enforced, no reputable organisation should be putting its customer data at risk.
Also, much of the most commonly used business software is going out of date in 2020:
- Windows 7
- Office 2010
- Exchange 2010
- Small Business Server 2011
- Windows Server 2008 (including R2)
If yours is one of the thousands of businesses still running on these soon-to-be defunct systems, it’s only a matter of time before your operations grind to a halt.
Upgrading just makes good business sense.
Infrastructure upgrades offer huge advantages in terms of productivity, costs and overall team collaboration. By ensuring your system is not only fit for purpose, but also enables your people to do their jobs as efficiently as possible, you’ll be keeping your business competitive, reliable and responsive.
Our latest guide gives you more detail on how to upgrade your IT with confidence, and you can download and read it here:[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”6949″ img_size=”600×400″ alignment=”center”][vc_empty_space][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]
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