Why and How a Technology Refresh is Actually Worth It

It’s easy to skimp here and there when you run a business. After all, it isn’t cheap, and you have to make difficult decisions every day for where you’re prioritizing your spending. One area where you can’t scrimp on a substandard investment is your technology; especially an old computer that has broken down over and over again. If you’re not careful, that broken computer could be holding you back and costing you profit.

How much is it really costing you? Let’s find out.

On Defying Moore’s Law

In 1965, a co-founder of Intel named Gordon Moore made the guess that computing power would double every two years or so. This concept eventually became Moore’s Law, and it’s been relatively accurate since then.

As you can imagine, Moore’s Law is one of the big reasons why we have such powerful computers in more compact forms compared to the way they used to be. It’s also why all of the workstations you’ve purchased over the past two years or so are already outdated.

Cycling through technology this frequently, however, is not feasible for a business owner, and especially not a small business that follows the “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” motto. That said, there are certain circumstances where you’ll want to invest in new technology more often.

“Broken” Doesn’t Always Look the Same Way

Even if your device isn’t “broken” broken, it could still be impacting your business in ways that create wasted time and wasted money, especially as it accumulates issues that go unresolved. As we approach the end of the year, it’s good to start thinking about how your technology is affecting the parts of your business that keep it going.

How the Costs Build Up

If your business hasn’t updated its technology in the past couple years, chances are it might start to show some of its wear and tear. Tasks that take only a couple of minutes now could lead to hours wasted over the course of days, weeks, months, or even years, especially if you don’t address the problem.

Let’s look at how all of this adds up over time:

How Much Is Old Tech Costing Your Business?

If you assume that all these issues cost an employee 15 minutes of their day, and that they work your typical five-day workweek, that’s an hour and 15 minutes of work every week. This means 62.5 hours wasted per year, which is a week and a half of productive time sacrificed. Keep in mind, you’re still paying salary and benefits for that time, even if it’s not being spent well.

The real kicker is when you multiply that number by the number of employees you have. Suddenly, it becomes a considerable sum that could impact your budget. Compare that number to how much it would cost to replace old hardware; do you still believe it’s not a good time to invest in it?

Financial Costs Are Just the Beginning

There are, of course, other issues that you’ll need to consider. As your technology ages, it will no longer be supported by developers, meaning that it won’t receive patches or security updates any longer. This puts your business at risk of cyberthreats. Furthermore, modern cybersecurity solutions depend on specific hardware being available, which means that older machines are just not going to be compatible any longer.

Plus, when your technology doesn’t work the way it should, the people involved will get more frustrated over time. They might even leave if you can’t keep up with the technological demands and expectations of the modern office environment. This is a good opportunity to stand out and show that you care about the employee experience, so make sure you take advantage of it.

How Your Business Can Solve Its Tech Spending Issues

Your organization should implement a refresh cycle, which is a strategic scheduling of when your technology should be replaced. Here are some of the factors that a refresh cycle should include:

• Predictable budgeting, preventing sudden costs, and allowing you to treat hardware acquisition as an operating expense.
• Boosted productivity thanks to tools that are designed to work efficiently and meet their needs.
• Hardened security via compatibility with new protections, removing a lot of your risk.
• Employee retention is supported by a more positive workplace culture and experience.

We’ll Help You Implement This Refresh Cycle

Hardware can be expensive, so you want to make educated decisions that benefit your business in the long run. These decisions can be difficult to make on your own, especially without dedicated knowledge and expertise. Datalyst can offer both in spades and help you build your company’s refresh cycle from scratch. Learn more by calling us at (774) 213-9701 today.