04.27.08
The High Cost of Old Technology
One should never be the first to adopt new technology into a production environment; but, one should also never be the last.
I was reminded of this during a recent visit to a local company. I had been called in to restore a PC. As I sat there waiting for the system to run through the installation media and then through the configuration process, it reinforced my conviction that a company does itself a disservice when it is the last to adopt proven and up-to-date technology.
There is a high cost associated with outdated technology, whether that cost comes in the form of lost productivity or the added expense of supporting legacy systems.
In my example above, I was forced to charge the client for time that could have been avoided with the simple installation of more RAM. I made sure the client was aware of this added cost prior to doing any work. The computer was not old; it was just slow because it lacked the hardware resources it needed to run the installed software.
This is just one example of many that I have seen where people hold on to old or inadequate technology too long, for example, the continued use of software for which the OEM no longer provides support.
In the case of Microsoft Windows there is no good case for maintaining these legacy systems unless you are stuck with an expensive piece of proprietary software that will not run on later versions of Microsoft’s operating system. However, this is not the case with most small and medium-sized businesses; and, with Microsoft’s new virtualization software for Vista and Server 2008 you no longer have to stick with that old equipment.
So, below is a list of general rules to follow when assessing your IT decisions.
1. If it breaks more than once a month, replace it. The average business owner will pay between $60.00 and $100.00 an hour for service on their computers and networks. Taking a one-time five hundred dollar hit to avoid a $200 a month expense will cost less in the long-run.
2. If your technician spends more time waiting for your computer to boot than he/she actually does fixing things, it is time to upgrade. A system that takes 15 or 20 minutes to boot is not normal. A healthy system should boot within 90 to 120 seconds.
3. Don’t be the last to adopt the upgrade. There is one potentially big problem with waiting too long to upgrade or replace your equipment. You may get stuck with equipment or software that no one can support or migrate anymore. This will lead to a situation where everything has to be done from scratch—a far more costly solution than “keeping up with the times.”
Here are a few additional suggestions to help you save money when it comes to making IT decisions.
1. Image your systems for quicker recovery. Should the hard drive or motherboard in one of your systems go bad, completely rebuilding the system will take hours—not to mention the possibility of lost data, which I will address in a moment. Using imaging software like Symantec’s Ghost one can restore a system to full functionality within an hour.
2. Store your data on a server with backup capability. Data is more important than the actual system on which it is stored or manipulated. In order to maintain the integrity of data one should store that data on a separate system with a proper backup schedule and redundancy, such as, emergency power supplies and storage arrays.
3. Control your environment. This is one of the most underrated actions that a business owner can take to preserve their systems and lower costs. Think of it this way. Giving your employees complete control over their desktops or administrative privileges to a server is like allowing everyone access to the ledger accounts of the company. The chance for mistakes or abuse grows exponentially. So, lock down those computers!
Lastly, I would like to mention that Microsoft has released the first service pack for their new operating system, Vista. Now that this service pack is out you should not be afraid to move to this next iteration of the operating system. However, make sure your present systems can handle the upgrade. I would not put this operating system on anything older than a year or with less than 1 GB of RAM.
Jeff Irvin is a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer and a Certified Lotus Professional with over fifteen years of experience in the IT industry. He can be reached via email at jeff.irvin@igtahoe.com.
