As technology has developed so rapidly over the past decade or so, many businesses are finding that their systems haven’t kept up.
Many are working with old software that then needs old hardware to keep up with it – not the most efficient way to work.
For example, we recently visited a client that’s been in business for about 20 years, and which is working with a piece of software that was written 15 years ago, based on IT standards 15 years ago. This means they need the infrastructure in place to support that – slowing their company down and leading to unnecessary expense.
The most glaring issue is that it’s not cloud-based, so they need to pay for maintenance and upkeep; every few years they’re having to change their hardware to support their software. Furthermore, it’s a struggle to find support that will enable them to upgrade the software as the skills for that are dying out. The people who can do it are hard to find and therefore expensive.
It’s also needlessly expensive, as companies in this situation are frequently paying for things that they don’t really need, having purchased the software in a time where massive, off-the-shelf packages were the norm.
There are a surprising number of firms out there in this position, making do with legacy technology as it’s what they’re used to, and they don’t know how much easier life could be.
They’re stuck in limbo; do they invest in upgraded hardware to support their existing systems or do they take the leap in going into the new (to them) world of cloud, saving money in the long term and doing things more efficiently?
The choice is clear
For us, the answer would always be to make the leap. Not only is modern, cloud-based technology more efficient, it’s considerably more secure too – a major advantage in our data-driven society.
That’s because, if you’re running hardware internally that has data on it, that’s quite a risk, especially if you’re handling, as many companies, are, highly sensitive, personal data. Ideally, it should be in a cloud-based infrastructure that’s built for that kind of thing.
Modernising your systems also removes the need for someone to support it internally; a lot of companies have someone who takes care of it, but as a side role to their day job, without the aid of an IT expert.
That’s another quite substantial risk as, to be blunt, they’re doing things without really knowing what they’re doing.
Using more modern infrastructure allows you to partner with a company such as Sapere, without having to pay for someone to do the job full time. You pay for an expert, without unnecessary expense of paying for a full-time expert internally.
We also take a pro-active approach, which means we know if something goes wrong before you do, so we can react quickly. We’re also up to speed with any preventative measures you can put in place whereas, if keeping your IT up to scratch is somebody’s second job, they wouldn’t necessarily be wholly focused making sure the system’s running at its optimum.
Ultimately, if you’re not working with digital experts on your digital systems, then, while you may be doing the best you can, you may inadvertently be exposing your firm and your data to a security risk.
Upgrading now will save you money in the long run, will help you work more efficiently and will ensure greater security – so the time is definitely now.
If you’re ready to move on, get in touch with the team via our contact form – we’re here to help!