There’s nothing more annoying than having a large task ahead of you, only to be met with slow loading pages, near-constant system crashes, and a general sense of frustration over the lack of linear productivity being made at work.
Many businesses and organizations today use the shiniest, up to date operating and data management systems available, in order to beat out their competition and get the most out of their services and employees. However, many are also stuck in the past, using legacy or deprecated systems – with good intentions, that hold them back, whether they are aware of it or not.
Using outdated systems can pose many threats to an organization, including a dent in revenue.
1. Loss of business
Systems that are no longer supported by their developer are, by default, no longer subject to updates, bug fixes, or security updates. This leaves a company’s system open to all sorts of security threats, including cyber-attacks and data breaches, therefore compromising sensitive data. A breach in security means the potential loss of trust in a business’s brand, driving loyal customers into the open arms of competitors, with the promise of safe data storage under newer systems.
2. Data breach fees
However, this isn’t the only revenue loss a security breach can cost a business using obsolete data management systems; certain data compliance standards require an organization’s technology to be supported by its developer, and there are consequences of a security breach in the form of penalties and fees – money that could have been put back into business productivity.
3. Loss of employee productivity & overtime costs
On the topic of business productivity, slow and outdated technology often results in lost employee productivity, with workers spending more time fixing problems in the system, than actually doing the work required to move the business forward and bring in more revenue. The loss of productivity revenue, along with the potential of overtime costs to ensure deadlines are reached, means businesses run the risk of further losing out on ROI.
4. High turnover rate expenses
Furthermore, the stress of using old technology daily, and the looming threat of mistakes in data management systems often lead to low employee morale and a higher turnover in staff. This lack of employee retention, for many businesses, further equals a loss of revenue, having to spend time and money on recruitment and training for new employees.
5. Increased maintenance costs
Outdated technology also comes with another set of problems: increased maintenance costs. These systems are, more often than not, less energy and power-efficient than their younger counterparts, which leads to increased unnecessary overhead costs for a business. Not to mention the price of data recovery and restoration (if at all possible), should something go horribly wrong, as is possible due to increased failure rates.
When deciding whether or not to upgrade data management systems, it’s important for businesses and organizations to weigh up the cost of maintenance of obsolete systems, vs. the cost of upgrading to newer systems, and how either choice will affect the business in the long term. As a business grows, so does its need for technological expansion. Using legacy or deprecated systems can stunt the growth of a business, if these systems cannot keep up with business growth, leading to reliance on outdated ways of working
Overall, every business has its own unique way of operating, and although many will prefer to use newer techniques of data management (cloud-based, etc.), others will stay true to their tried and trusted ways.
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