Can your IT meet today’s business challenges? Well, that really depends on how old your existing IT infrastructure is. If you have infrastructure that is legacy i.e. no longer supported, then by definition it is not compatible with the future.

IT is in an ever-changing state. It is always advancing into something better, and the increasing need for things like data analytics, edge computing, artificial intelligence and cloud computing are accelerating this change.

Leaving legacy behind is crucial if you want to run an agile business. Not only do legacy systems bring security and compatibility issues, but they reduce mobility and require you to allocate too many resources to maintaining them.

Upgrading your IT also enables personnel to do their job better and more quickly. For example, the difference in speed between disk drives and solid state storage is huge. There are thousands more instances like this.

Meeting today’s business challenges while preparing for tomorrow

Depending on your operation, your IT infrastructure will have a direct effect on:

  • Customer experience
  • Workforce productivity
  • Deploying services
  • Operating costs
  • Security and compliance
  • App and system performance

Ask yourself, does your IT enable you to meet these challenges? If the answer is no, then it’s time to consider making upgrades. These could include:

  • Replacing outdated software
  • Replacing outdated hardware
  • Migrating to newer systems
  • Investing in security
  • Making the most of the cloud
  • Making the most of the edge
  • Upgrading your network and internet capabilities

When upgrading your IT infrastructure to meet today’s business challenges, it’s also important to prepare for tomorrow. You can do this in a few ways.

The main way is to invest in hardware and software that is nowhere near end-of-life. You ideally want to make investments that will return value for at least a decade. This is a very long time in the IT world but vendors like Microsoft and HPE provide high-quality support.

This is the benefit to choosing a top-tier vendor. Choosing a top vendor for servers, storage, hyperconverged infrastructure and networking is worth it in the long run. It also enables cross-compatibility with future systems and devices.

If your IT infrastructure is complex and critical to your operations, you may be scared of making upgrades that result in downtime. Preparation is the best way to mitigate this risk and the advice of an IT consultant could be invaluable.