Is Old IT Equipment Causing You To Bleed Money?
It’s easy to get sentimental with a few things especially the equipment we use in our organizations. If it’s been with you for some time then you get attached a little bit. But does keeping old equipment worth it or is it causing your business to bleed money?
It’s almost impossible to run a business nowadays without equipment and tools. They are our partners in our day-to-day activities within the organization. Just like people who have to be at 100% every day, equipment should also be in its top form.
But what if this equipment gets old? While the term “old” is subjective when your tools and equipment have a few years in them you see a difference in their performance. But a lot of businesses still keep their old equipment. Sometimes, it’s because they don’t know any better but a lot of owners think that getting new equipment when you still have old ones that still work is a waste of money.
But is it?
Are you wasting money when you get new equipment? Is keeping old equipment a way to save money or are you unknowingly wasting money? Let’s find out.
Why Do People Keep Old Equipment?
Whenever we talk to organizations who still cling to their old equipment instead of getting new ones, we get a mix of answers. Here is a couple of them:
- “We don’t have the money to get new ones” – Organizations see new equipment as an expense and can’t find any way to fit them in their budget. By keeping the old ones, they can continuously put off buying new equipment.
- “It’s not broken so why replace it?” – Another very common answer, a lot of businesses operate around the idea that if something is still working then we should use them as much as they can until they just decide to retire.
- “We’ve been using it for the longest time” – While not exactly common, there are some businesses who get attached to their equipment. They believe using them until they break down is the best way to reward their loyalty.
Is Keeping Old Equipment Worth It?
Direct answer? No.
While there are some reasons why keeping old IT equipment may make sense for some businesses (if they are using legacy processes or systems that only run on old devices/equipment) but using equipment that is way past their efficient days will always make an organization lose money.
How? Here are a couple of ways how your business may be losing money due to your old equipment.
- Frequent downtime – All types of equipment, new or old, will encounter issues at one point. However, it is quite obvious that older equipment will experience more downtime than newer ones. The parts are older, it no longer runs with the latest software, and it’s not just as good anymore. No matter how good your maintenance is, old equipment will break down more and more. And when your organization experiences downtime, it is costing you hundreds if not thousands of dollars every hour you are not operating.
- Support and Maintenance – If something is a bit older, it needs more maintenance and you need more support. This means more helpdesk tickets, more checks from the IT team, and overall more man-hours just to keep the older devices running smoothly. All of these could’ve been spent on other more important things.
- Slower performance – If you are using older computers then you will experience very slow performance compared to newer ones. That’s just how it is. Newer computers use the latest technology so they can perform better compared to a device release 5 years ago. Slower performance means your employees don’t get to do as much work as they can. This will also affect customer satisfaction because customers like to be processed fast – a 5-year-old computer won’t help you with that.
- Security issues – When your servers, network devices, and computers are old you become an easy target for people who are looking to infiltrate your network. Once they do, they can either steal your data, bring down your whole network, or both. Older devices are very good targets for these people because they have a lot of security vulnerabilities.
- Compatibility options with newer software – If you were to provide a better service to your customers or to increase productivity within your organization one of the solutions is to introduce newer and better software. Sadly, if you are still using older devices, there might be compatibility issues that may cause issues. This means you are stuck with your old device and old software that’s clunky, complicated, and inefficient.
- Loss of Customers – Studies have shown that customers are more likely to work with businesses that are using the latest technology. This is because most customers believe newer technology and equipment equate to a better overall service. By keeping your old computers and devices, you are pushing aware possible customers which is additional revenue.
Is The Solution To Buy New Equipment?
In the past, the answer to this would be yes. There will come a point when your current equipment is considered old and you should buy new ones to replace them.
But that’s not exactly the case nowadays.
There are a few options available for businesses who want to get rid of old equipment but don’t have the deep pockets to do so right away. For example, if you were using an in-house server to keep all your files then you might not need to buy a new server. What you can do is migrate everything to the cloud. By taking your files and other IT software/apps to the cloud, you can do away with getting new devices this year. It will cost you much less and it’s a total upgrade from your old devices.
If you are confused with all of this don’t worry, this is the best time for your IT team to step up and provide you with options. If you don’t have one you can always count on Mathe and their team of IT experts to assist you. Mathe is a provider of cloud technologies, IT services, IT security, and other IT solutions for organizations in New Jersey and throughout the whole United States. Our team of seasoned IT veterans can help you plan out an “upgrade” to get rid of your old equipment. Call us today and let’s talk about how we can help you take your business to the next level with the help of IT.
With over 35 years in the business of supporting and implementing technology for the SME market, and 6 years previously in Corporate IT and Voice. I have seen a great deal of change. The only common thread is I have always focused on the Business Wise application of Technology. We always try to look 5 years ahead of the current technology to make sure our clients are on the right track to meet current and future needs.