Older IT equipment may be costing your organization more than you think. Here are key questions to ask.
Ideal economic conditions tend to trigger broad business growth across a variety of industries and sectors — hence the expression “a rising tide lifts all boats.” However, it takes focus, discipline and a faultless sense of direction to navigate economic uncertainty.
Competitive pressures are forcing organizations of all sizes — particularly small-to-midsize enterprises (SMEs) — to find ways to increase efficiency and enhance customer service while keeping a lid on expenses. IT budgets often come under scrutiny as organizations seek to squeeze the last drop of value out of existing systems and minimize support and maintenance costs.
“Cost” does not always equate to “value,” however, particularly when it comes to technology. If not properly managed and maintained, IT systems can actually increase operational costs, sap productivity and negatively impact customer service.
This is particularly true as organizations put off technology upgrades and “make do” with older equipment. However, even organizations that regularly refresh their computer systems need to take a look at the real cost of ongoing maintenance in terms of both dollars and competitive advantages.
Often, the cost of in-house IT maintenance is high, and SMEs end up several steps behind the latest patches and security updates. The results can be devastating. That’s why it makes good sense to pair regular equipment upgrades with a managed services arrangement.
A managed services solution that provides monitoring and proactive maintenance of IT systems can help prevent downtime and unexpected IT costs. However, some managed services providers (MSPs) offer the bare minimum of services with pricing at commodity levels. When assessing whether to outsource or evaluating MSPs, it’s important to compare the true costs of IT maintenance against the value of up-to-date computer systems that are efficient and secure.
- What does one hour of downtime cost my business? Virtually every organization relies on IT for day-to-day operations. That means every hour of computer downtime is an hour of lost business. In a new survey by Enterprise Technology Research, 60 percent of IT professionals said unplanned outages cost their organizations $100,000 per hour or more. Three in five respondents said critical outages impacting the business took more than 30 minutes to resolve.
- How much time does my staff spend fixing IT problems? Most IT teams devote the bulk of their time to routine maintenance and troubleshooting issues, leaving little time for innovation. IT problems sap productivity in other ways as well. According to one recent study, employees spend at least 2.7 hours a week fixing IT issues. That adds up to about $4,072 per year per worker.
- How much of my budget is spent simply maintaining my current IT systems? Experts say organizations spend two-thirds of their IT budgets simply fixing desktops and servers, performing backups, and handling other maintenance and support tasks. That percentage may be higher among smaller organizations that have postponed new technology investments. That doesn’t leave much room for strategic investments.
- What are the costs of a security breach? Older IT equipment is more susceptible to a security breach, particularly if the equipment is no longer supported by the manufacturer. Additionally, aging equipment may not be able to support the latest, most secure software. According to IBM’s 2024 Cost of a Data Breach Report, the average cost of a data breach is $4.88 million. Keeping equipment up to date is far more cost-effective.
- Will I have to replace the equipment anyway? If older equipment malfunctions, it may cost more to repair it than to replace it. This is particularly true if the equipment is out of warranty. It is better to upgrade systems regularly and utilize managed services for proactive maintenance than to replace equipment on an emergency basis.
An understanding of how much reactive IT really costs can help business executives make better decisions about ongoing IT maintenance and management. SMEs should scrutinize their budgets for both direct and indirect IT costs and make an apples-to-apples comparison to managed services. Odds are they’ll find that keeping equipment up to date and partnering with a qualified MSP can help them reduce overhead while improving productivity, security and customer service.
