Hidden Costs of Not Upgrading

Computer technology changes so rapidly that failure to perform regularly scheduled upgrades or updates to your system can lead to serious issues for your company. You may think that you’re saving money by postponing upgrades to your computers or servers, but you’ll often find that it ends up costing you more in the end. From IT costs due to ransomware to reduced productivity due to downtime, deferring maintenance of your business’ technology is never a good way to save money. Here are just a few of the hidden costs of not upgrading your computers and servers as scheduled.

Data loss

Data loss events are a major concern for businesses – and with good reason. From the time that it takes to get a system back online after these events to shaken customer confidence, data loss can be a major cost for companies. If you’ve put off upgrades to your computers and servers, you may be putting yourself at even greater risk of such an event.

As a system or computer ages, data losses become more frequent. Due to the time it takes to backup outdated computers, restore points are often less frequent than on an updated system. When data loss events do occur, the recovery period on an outdated machine is slower – resulting in longer downtime and increased IT costs. Learn more about data loss prevention by reading Data Privacy Day 2019: Focus on Security.

Hampering productivity

Poor PC performance can lead to lower productivity for your staff. When your system is running slowly day in and day out, your employees may come to accept this slowness as a fact of life. A few seconds here or there may not seem like a lot, but it adds up quickly. It’s not just the few seconds of waiting, but the disruption to the workflow increases the likelihood of distraction, which leads to mistakes.

When employees lose even just 10 minutes a day to lag time during boot-up, response of apps, and shutdowns, you’re losing roughly 40 hours of productivity per year. Upgrading your computers and servers can save your team time, reducing lag time and making them more productive. With all of the time that your team will be able to put back into work, your upgrades can easily pay for themselves quickly.

Not to mention, your employees are not the only workers who are impacted by slower PCs. Contractors who often charge at hourly rates can be slowed down by aging infrastructure. This includes the IT support staff that helps keep it running, not only are service calls more frequent, but they also are more time consuming!

Vulnerabilities

Older operating systems and hardware are also more susceptible to security vulnerabilities like viruses and ransomware. Even if you’re running antivirus programs and have a firewall in place, hackers can still exploit the gaps left by unpatchable vulnerabilities.

With Windows 7 nearing the end of its life support by Microsoft, 36 percent of Windows users will be left exposed to ever increasing attacks by opportunistic hackers and other malicious actors. Upgrading your operating systems and hardware is essential to keeping your company’s valuable data and network secure. Read Windows 7 End of Life to learn more about the threats posed by using an outdated OS.

Don’t let putting off upgrades cause incompatibilities

Much like an outdated operating system or old hardware, aging server hardware can also leave you unable to support the latest software you need for your industry. Putting off performing regular maintenance and updates to your system may end up costing you more money in the long run, as many companies find themselves having to shell out more money at one time to do system-wide upgrades when regularly scheduled updates could have kept them on the right track from the beginning.

Keeping up with the latest advancements in computer technology can be difficult even for industry professionals. You need to be able to spend more time growing your business and less time worrying about your office equipment – that’s where the experts at Computer Service Now can help. Our computer services, including computer repair, upgrades, tune-ups, and much more offers you an easy and hassle-free option to keep your office computers running smoothly.

With our high level of customer service and satisfaction, Computer Service Now works hard to be the premier IT firm in the Cincinnati and Dayton region. We offer a wide variety of IT solutions that stay within your budget. For IT-related projects big and small, our experience, expertise, and variety of services allow us to provide the support you need to meet your business needs. Contact us today and let us solve all of your IT needs today!