Technology is often a crucial part of any business, helping with communication, marketing, accounting and so much more. Even basic functions like day-to-day operations and simple administration are often performed with the assistance of technology. In fact, according to Finance Online, some 95% of businesses have relied on software as a service (SaaS) in one shape or form since 2019.
Now, post-pandemic, technology has a new and even bigger role to play, helping to keep remote workers and digital nomads connected to the main office on a regular basis.
All this technology runs at a cost and also needs updating regularly. However, what if you can’t afford to update all the software and hardware in one go? Here are some reasons why updating your software may well be more important than keeping your hardware up-to-date.
Software updates help fix security problems and vulnerabilities
This is the biggest reason to update software over hardware. Yes, old hardware may boot up a little slower, it may have a sticky key here and there, it may have batteries that drain quicker, or USB ports that don’t work quite right. However, all of this pails into insignificance up against a costly security breach.
Software vulnerabilities act as an open invitation to cybercriminals, enabling them to plant Malware on your system that can take control of your computers, steal information, and even encrypt vital documents and programs to make them unusable. It may even hold you to ransom with Ransomware, demanding a set amount of money for you to get access to your system again.
Updating your software can offer patches to secure you against these vulnerabilities.
Data protection safety
Whilst old hardware can be slow, it doesn’t normally affect your data security.
Old software, on the other hand, can have flaws and vulnerabilities that expose you to data theft. This is where a criminal actor manages to enter your system and hunt out sensitive information like banking details, passwords, personal data and usernames.
If they can successfully locate this information, then they can sell it on the dark web for a wealth of negative and illegal reasons. You may find yourself liable for any damages incurred by those people affected, whether they are clients, employees or other companies.
Another way to increase your data security is to use a unified communications system, as this means that your data is stored on a cloud based system with your provider rather than within your own system. This beginners’ guide to unified communications will help you understand more of the benefits to this option.
Software updates can keep you competitive
By making sure you have the most up-to-date programs and features on your system, you can stay one step ahead of your competitors.
If your competitors can communicate with their customers and remote workers with ease, and you can’t, your company will suffer. If you have industry specific programs and you’re running an older version of it than your competitors, then your competitors will leapfrog you.
As such, it’s crucial to update your software to keep your business current.
Obviously, in an ideal world, all businesses should aim to update their hardware and software as soon as it is needed. However, for security and performance reasons, software should probably be prioritised where possible.
