As a small business owner, your main priority is keeping costs low and when you are wearing a lot of hats, it is understandable that upgrading software is never high on your list of priorities. However, avoiding the upgrade or postponing indefinitely, can be putting your business at unnecessary risk in terms of security, productivity and performance.
There are a lot of benefits to upgrading your software, which can as a result, save you money spent on removing malware, using multiple online applications when one desktop program will suffice, and also avoid making constant phone calls to your IT supportteam/partner.
In addition, a lot of new software is now available via a subscription service which can improve your cash flow and make life for small business owners a lot easier as software updates are done automatically, when a new version is released. This new purchasing option also means not having to worry about going out and buying the software off the shelf which can be an expensive one off capital cost.
Here are the 3 main benefits you will gain from upgrading your outdated software:
Security is improved
Every day, more and more malware and viruses are created to penetrate firewalls and override other security measures you may have on your device. Therefore the older the software, the less likely you are to withstand an attack by hackers who have had a long time to develop the threat.
To ensure the security of your data, and to maintain issues of compliance; the removal of these threats can be costly when you have to pay a professional third party for their time and expertise.
New software comes with extra protective features, proven to eliminate past threats and to improve the security of your device to withstand new threats devised by hackers, reducing the risk of disruption to your business which results in the loss of time and money.
More functionality with new / additional features
Newer software has more built-in features, generally making employees’ work easier and are therefore more efficient with the ability tocomplete a task in significantly less time. Struggling with limited functionality on old software can often lead to using multiple online applications within your business to compensate for old file formats etc., wasting your valuable time and bandwidth!
The device works optimally
New devices running old software are less able to take advantage of improvements in technology such as smart batteries and multispeed processors, and this can slow down the system dramatically, affecting productivity and increasing the risk of disruption to your business. To maintain the user experience and keep your devices running smoothly, automatic software updates are needed and these are sometimes no longer supported for older software. Troubleshooting issues with older software can also become a problem when your IT support company focuses on the newer technology and is unable to offer support for the older versions.