Outdated Technology Costs Your Business More Money Than You Think
When it comes to technology, it can be expensive, complicated and a massive pain to upgrade and as specialists in the technology field, we see business owners holding onto very outdated technology with the mantra of “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, and it is hurting their businesses more than you’d think.
Specialized Technicians Cost A Fortune
With technology ever-changing, what was new and in high-demand 10 years ago may definitely not be so anymore and as a result, your average technician may not be familiar with the technology. As the technology ages, it may become increasingly difficult to find a technician specialized in the specific technology and those that do specialize are bound to charge you a fortune.
You Could Be Losing More Than A Week’s Work In A Year
The older the technology, one may notice, the slower it is. When looking at technologies such as printers, copiers and PC’s, the general rule is, the older the machine, the slower it is and we have seen that many times – waiting next to the printer to print two pages for almost 15 minutes. Due to wear and tear on the hardware and lack of updates on the software, these technologies become slower as they age and end up wasting more than just your time as they decrease productivity which could be costing your business more than a one work week a year and the revenue that it brings with it.
Your Brand Reputation May Be At Risk
Let’s use an analog: You go to the doctor and head to the reception office to book an appointment, as you get there, the receptionist pulls out a big appointment book used to schedule patients. How would your perception of the doctor’s office change? The truth is that customers like up-to-date technology and associate modern systems with improved service. If the receptionist is using an outdated method of appointment scheduling, what medical equipment might the doctor be using? Using outdated equipment, you could unknowingly be losing customers.
You Could Be Putting Your Entire Company At Risk
By sticking with outdated technology, you could potentially be putting your company at risk of being shutdown. If you’re storing important information on tape or old drives stored in an office cupboard, have a server on-site with no off-site backups, you risk losing important information which could be the downfall of your company due to something as simple as a power surge or a freak fire.
If you’ve had your technology for more than five years, its probably outdated and time for an upgrade. Although each environment is different and each company has its own budget restraints, the general rule of thumb for technology is three to five years before its time to upgrade.