The opinions expressed in this article are those of Thomas Aplin-Ward not ESP Projects
As network and working practices continue to develop, flex and become more fluid, time becomes our precious resource in the modern office. Staff managing large and important amounts of data across multiple sites/projects are often juggling many plates, and the requirement to reduce wasted activities is brought to the forefront. New devices can assist in reducing these challenges, but many businesses are hesitant to upgrade their core network and the end user devices.
Although many organisations put off refreshing hardware and software throughout their IT network due to upfront costs capital expense, there are other factors that influence the total return on investment (ROI) and this article attempts to highlight these in a little more detail.
Are your old end user devices costing you, your staff and your customers?
On average, organisations waste up to 21 days per year per employee waiting for IT equipment to boot or perform the tasks expected. Currently, the average UK annual salary for full-time employees is £27,000 pa, so equates to an average financial waste of £2,179.80 pa employee per year. For an organisation of 30 staff, that’s £65,394 pa, which is certainly not pocket change!!
On top of the finance cost of wasted time, IT equipment older than four years old become a depreciating asset on your accounts. Maintenance costs, repairs and lost of productivity is a serious issue and often hidden from the decision making process of organisations IT networks.
Ageing hardware and cyber security
As mentioned above, the working patterns of staff is becoming ever more flexible and fluid. No longer do those traditional 9am to 5pm office-based routine apply. Staff work flexible hours in multiple locations and therefore the focus on company data security and method of access has changed, dramatically.
According to Nation studies, in 2017 Cyberattacks affected just under half (46%) of small businesses and this rose to two-thirds among medium organisations (66%) and large firms (68%). Devices over 4 years old may not be not equipped with the latest hardware and software features to help protect them and new security software now incompatible. This leaves a major data security risk to your IT network.
Ageing hardware and software upgrades.
As many of have now heard, as of January 14, 2020, Microsoft are ceasing the support and updates for Windows 7, Office 2010 and Server 2008. These solutions will continue to run, but without receiving critical firewall and patch updates, will be a major security threat to your network and in many cases, considered unprotected. The replacement or upgrade of such hardware is extremely important for the security and compliance of your IT network.
Understanding the true cost of ageing hardware to your organisations productivity is extremely important and should you wish to discuss how ESP Project can support you with a full network hardware and software audit and plan a 5 year replacement strategy, please do not hesitate to contact us on the details below
