Laying a Technical Platform for Business Success
IT is essential for most businesses. Without IT, many companies will simply cease to function. Not only is it essential, though, but it can also be very costly. Computer hardware and software are often not cheap. This might encourage business owners to try and put off upgrades in order to avoid expenditure, especially during times of economic uncertainty. While deciding against upgrades may help you to save in the short term, however, it could end up costing you in the long term.
Advancing Software
Software is continually developing. New software generally allows you to do more than older software, and this can help to enhance your business’s operations. It can help you to communicate with your clients in new ways and help to streamline your operations. It can help you to access new markets and even improve your bottom line.
As new software is developed, however, it has increasing demands in terms of computing power. When new software is used on outdated hardware then problems can arise. The software can become slow and unreliable, while in some cases it may not even work at all.
While you might be tempted to continue using your current software, you can be sure that your competitors are making the most of new developments. This will help to give your competition an edge, helping them to get ahead. This could end up being significantly more costly than the initial cost of upgrading.
Downtime
As an ageing IT infrastructure faces new challenges, it will find it increasingly more difficult to keep up. This can result in systems that are slow and can also end up with systems failing altogether. This can lead to downtime, which can be very costly for any business.
One reason that people use the internet for business, shopping or leisure is that it offers so much convenience. It allows us to do business or go shopping right now. If your company’s systems are down, however, then potential new (and even existing customers) are likely to just go elsewhere. Depending on the nature of your business, downtime can also cause your client base to lose trust in you. Downtime can make your business appear to be struggling, even incompetent, and this can encourage your customers to take their business elsewhere.
Increased Maintenance Costs
Pretty much any product has a limited life and computers are no exception. Things will begin to stop working and just one faulty component in a computer can bring the whole thing to a halt. This means repairs or replacements; often patching up machinery rather than truly fixing it. This takes man-hours and resources, which is likely to become increasingly expensive. You are also likely to find that support from manufacturers may not be available as support is often withdrawn completely for obsolete products.
New IT systems also tend to be more energy efficient that outdated systems. When this extra cost is applied to a large IT system, then it can amount to something significant. Not only that but outdated systems can also become frustrating for staff. This can lead to a fall in morale and your best talents may choose to go to your competitors instead.
It is easy to see why some business owners might choose to wait until the last minute to replace and upgrade old IT systems. This can create a false economy, though, because an outdated IT infrastructure can become very costly for a business. You may find IT support services are also limited on old hardware or software.
It is important to make sure that you make sure your systems are modern and able to handle everything that is asked of them. Investing in modern IT infrastructure could be key to long-term future success.
If you have concerns or questions about the IT set-up at your organisation, contact an experienced IT consultant at NECL today. We may be able to offer a review of your current setup, before providing consultancy on how best to roadmap improvements in your IT infrastructure
