https://www.xperience-group.com/news-item/outdated-server-accounting-software/
According to Sharp, the average UK office worker wastes at least 21 days each year due to slow or outdated technology – that’s longer than the average paid annual leave of UK workers. Here we explain why it’s a bad idea to cling onto your old dusty server…
‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ – with this attitude many businesses cling to their aging servers, putting up with performance at snail’s pace and vulnerability to cyber-attacks. You might think ‘it does the job for now’, and you know where its kinks are, but a legacy server poses major security threats which can cause downtime, leaving your business flat lining…
Is that your server in the corner? Or the biggest dust bunny ever? The older your operating system or server is, the longer the hackers have had to exploit vulnerabilities – and we have witnessed that throughout 2017 when two major global malware outbreaks WannaCry & Petya targeted out-of-date IT systems.
Did You Know the patch that could have prevented the WannaCry attack was released 59 days before the outbreak occurred. If your server is not up to date, your risk is significant.
The keyboard lag. The constant string of pop-up reminders to apply updates. Reporting that takes ages. Sound familiar? Before you know it, half an hour or more a day has gone out the window while waiting for things to load. Think about it, if you have 40 employees, that’s 20 hours of lost productivity a day, or 100 hours in a week. Decreased productivity can cost your business in terms of both revenue and customer satisfaction – not to mention the cost of staff morale.
Top Tip: Slow performance is one of the most common issues for Sage 50 users overgrowing their accounting needs. Opt for Sage 200cloud with SQL database to remove data limits and enjoy speed for seamless performance and productivity gains. 5 signs it’s time to move on from Sage 50 >
Put simply: outdated technology can be expensive to maintain. You can compare it to maintaining a very old home, except that technology ages at a much faster rate. Each new version of software usually requires a more powerful server and only supports the latest versions of Windows Server and Microsoft SQL. As a result, the cost of continually updating an onsite server can be very high.
Top Tip: On-premise systems require large upfront investment which means capital expenditure (CapEx) is required. On top you need to include support and maintenance costs. With cloud, you make regular payments, including support and maintenance services, which makes it an operating expense (OpEx). Compare cloud vs on premise here >
Data corruption can be caused by a number of different reasons including power cuts, viruses and interference from other software. This is especially common for accounting software users and can cause major disruption whilst being repaired, affecting productivity.
Top Tip: If the worst happens, backups are your first line of defence, ensuring you can always recover your data. Take Sage 200cloud for example, it uses a SQL database which can cope with the higher volume of data and is very stable.
Entrusting your business information to a decade-old server? Stop. If you are in a regulated industry such as healthcare, your legacy IT setup can become a liability, resulting in big fines and company shutdowns.
Top Tip: Cloud software, such as Sage 200cloud, has a yearly release cycle with new features and functions available, including legislative updates, ensuring your business is compliant.
For the modern business, the ability to access data and documents, share information and ideas, and communicate in real time is vital. But how can you get your team, apps, and hardware working effectively, when your server is barely breathing?
Top Tip: While local servers can allow mobile access, this requires additional software, security and thus costs, not to mention overloading an already tired machine. Cloud servers are already set-up to provide mobile access, anytime and anywhere, increasing productivity.