The Risky Business of Outdated Technology

Spending money on IT solutions can be a costly outlay for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), so it’s easy to understand why you may want to cherish what you already know and love – but failing to keep up with the times by using outdated technology could be putting your business in danger.

Having up-to-date technology brings real benefits to SMEs – from cost-savings and competitive advantage to increased productivity and security – so read on and learn how to reap the benefits of a modern business.

Did you know?

Between 70% and 80% of the top 10 malware detected by a company could be avoided if their technology was updated correctly.

Top 5 risks of using outdated technology

1. Crashes and system downtime as you waste time fixing IT issues than focusing on your business objectives
2. Increased costs as you spend money fixing IT issues instead of growing your business
3. Decreased productivity as employees work to resolve IT issues instead of focusing on business tasks
4. Security holes as outdated software leaves you more open to cyber-attacks
5. Legal and regulatory compliance risks auditors can fine companies that don’t transition from unsupported software

What’s stopping SMEs from updating technology?

Resources such as time and finances are major reasons for the lack of technology updates in SMEs and those with fewer employees tend to invest less. Companies with less than 50 employees spend only 3 hours per week while those with more than 250 employees spend over 15 hours on average. The average amount of time spent on software updates is 11 hours per week.

Why should SMEs upgrade their technology?

Small businesses could be losing up to 1 work week each year because of old PCs. PCs that are more than 4 years old lead to the loss of 21 hours of productivity because of repairs, maintenance and security fixes. It also costs nearly double to fix a system that is older than 4 years. 61% of customers think a SME is out of date if it is using an operating system that is more than 5 years old.

Advantages of new technology

• 49% of business owners say new technology such as cloud computing has been a key factor in allowing them to grow
• 66% say it has reduced other IT costs
• 54% say cloud computing has accelerated their IT projects
• 49% has said it helps them punch above their weight and compete with larger organisations
• 94% of small and mid-sized companies gain security advantages when using the cloud
• Anywhere, anytime technology is a driver of the overall experience customers receive

This article was adapted from the infographic “The Risky Business of Outdated Technology” by Microsoft, a member of the Cyber Security Awareness Alliance.