8th January 2021 The hidden dangers of not updating your infrastructure

You may have only considered updating your IT infrastructure or feel happy with what you have. After all, the industry has invested billions over the last 40 years in platforms and processes, which we still rely on today. Having lived with these legacy systems for so long, it is understandably easy to get complacent and take their resilience for granted.

But updating systems, applications, and software for your business is about more than just improving the latency of a video chat or having the latest version of software. There are hidden dangers that shouldn’t be ignored and can leave you open and vulnerable to attacks. You may also be working with equipment that has become less secure, less productive and less efficient.

The hidden dangers behind outdated infrastructure

Slow productivity

If your applications are running slowly, it is probably a sign that they are out of date. And for a company that has hundreds, if not thousands of employees, that is a large amount of wasted resource. Slow processing can come from many sources, such as insufficient storage space, inefficient software, or unknown malware on your hardware.

Spending more on IT

The older a system is the more likely it will need constantly updating with the latest software. It may not seem much when you are updating it as and when, but these costs can add up to a lot over time for a big business. Upgrading all your network, processes, systems, devices and software can save you lots of money and resource in the long run.

Running out of space

One of the biggest issues with outdated systems is storage space. You may be finding that you are always chasing your tail to make sure your employees are not having to deal with storage space issues. It doesn’t matter whether it is computers themselves of the company cloud, a lack of space can disrupt productivity and severely hamper the speed of systems.

Poor user experience

Increasing network demands brought on by the sudden shift to remote working in a wireless age, can put a lot of strain on the servers and aging routers. Infrastructure that is not updated with the latest software patches may not support this increase in bandwidth requirements, impacting performance and user experience.

System crashes

The more outdated a system becomes the more likely it is to crash. It is easy to become used to these things as typical but updating can help stop this happening and improve the reliability of your computers. When a system is up to date and running smoothly, there is very little reason that you must drop tools and reboot because of a system crash.

Outdated cyber security

Outdated systems and processes do not have the necessary resiliency needed to be ready for today’s threat environment. Risk management is the most important element of modern cyber security, so it is crucial that you mitigate risk wherever possible. But you can’t manage risks if they are not made visible though having updated systems that support modern innovations in risk.

Wasted resource

Continuing to operate with outdated equipment not only misses out on the efficiency of modern technology, it also means spending valuable resources on maintaining and patching weaknesses in networks that are left vulnerable to modern cyber-attacks. In some cases, it is also a requirement by law to ensure it is up to date, especially for those that look after sensitive data.

Multiple systems

Outdated infrastructure often needs to be supported by multiple systems. This can mean you are spending time and money on managing lots of products just to cover your bases as a business. One way to solve this issue is taking the time and resource to develop and customise software that directly responds to your business processes.

Ageing hardware

A hard drive is not designed to last forever, and leaving it outdated can result in failure that in some cases causes considerable data loss. Any attempt to retrieve the data can cause further damage. Another issue caused by old hardware is bit rot. This is deterioration of the integrity of the data stored on an aging disk, caused by wear, contaminants and extreme warmth.

Lack of ransomware protection

Outdated systems are normally more open to ransomware attacks. There have been major incidents in the past such as the WannaCry outbreak in 2017, that affected over 160,000 global users. It turned out that most computers that had been targeted had delayed updating to the latest Windows version, which had layers of updated data protection.

Major disruption

The many devices that your business network relies upon are important to your business. This means that a virus could potentially have a massive impact on the functionality of your business and cause major disruption. For some sectors a computer infection could mean shutting down parts of your business, making it even more crucial to update your software.

Device vulnerability

As a business grows, the number of IoT devices that are connected to your network and accessing data increases. Ensuring that they are all updated will protect your network from cyber-attacks. Just one outdated device can severely disrupt your business. You must continually monitor all the devices that are being used and run health checks wherever possible.

Don’t get left behind or caught out. Arrange an audit of your systems to ensure a more productive and secure business for the future. They can even help you responsibly recycle your old kit.