Are you still relying on old technology?
Perhaps you have not invested in new technology in your business in a few years or maybe you are using a mixture of old and new technology – consistently replacing equipment and software whenever it breaks down. Most likely, there is at least one piece of equipment or software in your office that is ageing and needs to be replaced as soon as possible, but you have not gotten around to that just yet.
There are several reasons why many business owners are putting off investing in new technology, such as the below:
– The cost: Updating and replacing old technology requires financial investments. Perceived loss of productivity: Updating or replacing hardware or software takes time. The team will also need to be introduced to the new technology and brought up to speed.
– If it works, don’t change it: Oftentimes old technology seems to be working correctly, leading us to believe that there is no need to replace it until it is broken.
– Fear of change: It is human nature to be reluctant to change. Due to that, many businesses stick with old systems until they eventually end up failing.
While these are all valid points, what most people do not realise is that failing to update old technology could be costing your business far more time and money than it ends up saving you. Old technology is generally a lot slower and tends to crash or cause issues. Due to that, it ends up causing a loss in productivity that might end up harming your business in the long run.
What Are the 12 Hidden Issues Old Technology Could Be Causing?
1. Processes Are Ignored
Successful businesses have to rely on staff following company processes correctly. However, when IT does not perform properly, it can lead to employees taking shortcuts or workaround to be able to get the job done.
As soon as unapproved processes and working methods are introduced to the business, things start going wrong. In some cases, calls, orders, or tasks might be recorded incorrectly. This is why, it is so important to ensure that the technology in place is able to perform as expected.
2. Inability to Work Flexibly
Since the beginning of the pandemic, businesses had no choice but to transition towards a remote working environment. Hereby, a key factor was to have the latest technology in place. Those organisations that had already made investments into their technology prior to the pandemic were able to seamlessly let their employees work from home. In contrast, those who had to update or replace old technology infrastructure experienced a loss in productivity and disruptions.
Flexible working is not set to slow down in the future, meaning that businesses have to adapt in order to ensure that all systems, hardware, and devices are secure and functional when being used outside the office environment. In most cases, old technology does not provide the security or functionality that you need to ensure a flexible working environment. Technology, nowadays, is developed with flexibility in mind, giving your team the freedom to work remotely.
3. Higher Costs
While most people do not want to invest in new technology due to the costs, it is old technology that can be causing a lot of financial damage. If you are, for example, trying to reduce your energy costs within your business, old systems are the ones you should take a closer look at. This is due to old technology not having power-saving technology or equipment. Due to that, investing in new devices could have a major impact on your energy savings.
Besides that, incorporating the right technology within your business will provide your team with tools to be more productive and be more efficient. This can, for example, be achieved by introducing platforms such as Microsoft Teams that enables your employees to work collaboratively and efficiently from all over the world.
4. Expensive Emergency Fixes
By developing a bespoke IT roadmap and investment plan, you are able to create an annual budget that can be used for hardware and software upgrades, which would allow your business to stay up-to-date and in control of costs. If you do not have an investment plan or you are sticking with old technology, the costs can be unexpected and far higher once the technology has to be replaced.
When old technology stops working it will lead to a disruption in your business. Due to that, you are likely to rely on emergency IT support and expensive equipment replacements due to the lack of time. These costs can easily be avoided when planning long-term.
5. Lost Customers
Old technology can not only negatively impact the productivity within your business, but it can also lead to you losing valued customers. This is because old technology puts your business and its customers at a higher security risk. If your data were to be compromised your customers would likely lose faith in your ability to protect their sensitive data. Due to that, they might stop relying on your products or services.
Secondly, with a decrease in productivity, you might also be unable to respond to customer enquiries as fast as you used to. This could be the reason why your customers decide to switch to a fast and more reliable competitor.
All in all, old technology might lead to your customers having to wait around for you or see higher benefits in switching to your competition. Therefore, it is important to keep up with changes within the market and upgrade your technology over time.
6. Security Risks
Cybersecurity experts have reported that security breaches in 2020 had increased by 11% in comparison to 2018 as well as by 67% since 2014. Similarly, experts believe that this number will continue to rise during the pandemic, with cybercriminals targeting all company sizes and industries.
The risks of becoming a victim of cyber-attacks increases if you and your business are using old technology. This is because technology is always evolving, and cybercriminals are always finding new ways to penetrate systems and gain access to company-sensitive data. Outdated technology is not equipped to protect against new and emerging threats, and they often do not receive any more security updates from their manufacturer, making the technology especially vulnerable to attacks.
7. Productivity Loss
As mentioned before, a loss in productivity is the most obvious issue that old technology comes with. If your technology is slow and outdated, it will not be able to meet the demands of your business and customer causing a range of different issues.
Firstly, the use of outdated technology will lead to your employees needing extra time to complete everyday tasks. Besides that, older technology is more prone to breaking and your team is likely going to be disrupted trying to help each other solve issues or share computer equipment, making their work lives unenjoyable. Lastly, by not upgrading to new technologies, you will be missing out on integration and automation possibilities to increase your efficiency and employee productivity.
8. Increased Stress
The last issue old technology comes with is increased stress for your employees. Depending on your company’s culture, employees might be very vocal about the problems they are facing with your IT setup, or instead, they are keeping it quiet while trying their hardest to get the job done. Either way, the negative impact your outdated setup has is likely putting a strain on your employees.
Not being able to get tasks done efficiently might cause a great deal of stress, which could lead to a reduction in employee motivation and overall satisfaction with the company. Deadlines might be missed, and team members are likely going to be worried about letting their co-workers down. This is why it is so important to step up and upgrade your technology in order to ensure that you are supporting your employees and not holding them back.
If you are interested in finding out more about the impact of old technology and how you can upgrade efficiently or you are looking to take on an IT provider, contact us here. We currently offer a free IT consultation, so don’t forget to fill out our IT Workplace Assessment, so we can come back to you with our recommendations.