New Year, New PC: Why It’s Time to Upgrade

For obvious reasons, so many businesses put off upgrading their IT systems in 2020. Even those organisations that planned large-scale upgrades put the brakes on once it became obvious that 2020 would be a work from home year for most. There was also the perception way back in March 2020 that COVID-19 would be over by Christmas.; that never came to pass and here we are in 2021 still in a pandemic.

Are you a business that put off IT system upgrades then? If so, now is the time to look again at your IT systems.

Old Machines Hold You Back

This is true regardless of the events of 2020. Enterprises often focus on the outward cost of PC upgrades. What they consider less are the hidden costs of not upgrading:

• Slower systems hamper productivity – employees sit around waiting for things to happen, unsure if a system has crashed or whether their computer is struggling to process changes.
• Compatibility issues – as vendors release new versions of software and firmware, you will eventually come up against compatibility issues. The older the system, the longer it takes for IT support to implement workarounds when they could be doing something else.

Work from Home Culture is Here to Stay

The work from home genie is out of the bottle. Some big tech businesses say no matter how long the pandemic lasts, the work from home option is a permanent part of their business culture. Employees may work from home as often as they wish for as long as they like.

Even if you’re not planning on permanent work from home, it’s clear that what worked before 2020 won’t necessarily be suitable in 2021 and beyond. New machines and software are designed and built around remote working; this too was true before the pandemic, but COVID-19 has accelerated this need for flexibility.

Old systems simply struggle to enable employees’ needs for flexible working.

Evolving Security Standards

The older a machine gets, the more likely it is to have older security protocols. The older the security protocols, the higher the risk of security problems such as hacks. The main reason is that higher standards require more powerful machines and better software framework. Older hardware can’t run newer software if it’s not powerful enough to do so. So, by upgrading your hardware now, you’re future-proofing your business and protecting its data against potential breach.

Financing Options

Costs are always a concern and the pandemic has made things worse. Any business that cannot afford to put off upgrading their IT any longer, but also concerned about current and future costs during the pandemic, should check out finance options. IT providers are working with clients to not just install systems but to help spread the cost more manageably. The pandemic’s impact goes deep and affects almost every business in every industry.

Looking to upgrade your systems at this critical time? First Stop IT will work with you and understand your business needs as we collaborate installing your new PCs.