5 Reasons to Upgrade Your Software in 2021
Upgraded software has major benefits to productivity, safety and efficiency regardless of the industry. Many organisations continue to use old, outdated software that may be fit for purpose at the moment, but could easily cause problems in the future, incurring large costs and headaches for everyone that uses them.
With technology improving and the volume of data increasing every year, legacy software sometimes can’t keep up, resulting in efficiency problems and dissatisfied staff. Discussed below are five reasons to upgrade your organisation’s software in 2021.
Security
Secure software should be of the upmost importance for any organisation. This is especially true when dealing with employee and customer data or payments.
Outdated software leaves your organisation open to security breaches. Aging systems aren’t checked for vulnerabilities as often as newer alternatives.
Examples of this include companies continuing to use outdated versions of software on older operating systems including Windows XP & Windows 7.
Sensitive information is more likely to be compromised on an older system due to the lack of support, updates and checks for weaknesses. Newer technology almost always has better security checking in place.
Efficiency
An upgraded software solution with the latest technology being implemented allows organisations to do things that weren’t possible just a few years ago.
Computer capabilities increase annually with faster CPUs, SSDs and processors. A solution that takes advantage of these technological improvements will ultimately improve efficiency over time. Workloads and large datasets can be processed at a much greater speed than just a few years ago.
Similarly, upgraded features can be implemented such as connecting your software solution to mobile workers on the field with smartphones and tablets is just one of the ways to streamline your organisation’s processes.
Reduced Costs
With greater efficiency comes reduced costs. While the initial investment of upgrading your internal software and systems won’t be cheap, the benefits down the line will become obvious.
Old systems are costly to maintain. These systems can be expensive to fix when something goes wrong. Support for older systems often gets phased over time resulting in some potential major issues in the event of a new bug or error.
As discussed above, outdated software is more susceptible to exploitation and bugs. Because of these vulnerabilities, in the long run it tends to be more expensive to run unstable software than it is to upgrade to a more modern solution.
Growth
Scalability is an issue present in many older software solutions. Some software was built around the needs at the time of its creation and doesn’t adapt well to the increased business.
Software that has been designed with only 20 clients in mind at the time likely won’t be appropriate to use for your current customer base of over double.
The right technology solution should support both your current needs and allow for business growth in the future.
Happier Employees
Old software with bugs and shortcomings can be frustrating for staff to work with. An upgraded solution can be created with your employee’s usage in mind.
Internal research can identify the pain points employees have with certain solutions. Results can be used to ensure the next solution in place addresses these frustrations.
Employees being held back by poor software or systems will ultimately reduce their efficiency levels and make training new staff more difficult.
A large software or systems upgrade can be a large investment. Knowing that the right team is working on your upgrade project is half the battle. Is your organisation considering upgrading software in 2021? Be sure to get in contact with us today on +353 1 8041298!
