To be able to stay ahead of your customers, you need the right tools to meet your customers’ demands. All businesses will invest in some level of technology to support their business needs. There is a growing wealth of software solutions available to simplify business processes including online accounting solutions such as Xero, project management tools such as Monday.com or digital marketing tools such as HubSpot and to avail of the best performance from these tools, you will need the right hardware solution. Whether you prefer working from a mobile solution such as a tablet or laptop or a more traditional set up such as a PC, you should consider the life expectancy of your hardware. All businesses need a long-term IT strategy, whether you are a sole trader or a medium size business.

For many businesses, purchasing a laptop or PC is a significant investment. Your IT hardware should always meet the needs of your business whilst being conscious of your budget. Trying to navigate the world of IT hardware can be fraught with difficulties and can result in the purchase of a product that does not met your business needs. When this happens, one of two things will occur; a. your machine will seem slow, and you spend more time on tasks than necessary or b. you realise that you the device you purchased cannot deliver on the tasks needed. The outcome is often the same- spend more money to correct the issue. In an ideal world, advice would be sought from a knowledgeable engineer who can advise of the best solution for the demands of the software your business needs. However, it is important to remember that all hardware will eventually need to be replaced. The average life expectancy of a PC or laptop is 4 years.

Why do I need to replace my computer every 4 years?

While your device will continue to operate after 4 years, you will notice significant changes when using the machine that begin to effect productivity.  The technology used by computers changes so quickly over time so much so that a computer built four years ago is now classified as ‘aged’.  Each generation of hardware increases the speed of the computer, and each generation of software uses more of the hardware. After four years, something that took 1 minute to do now takes 5 minutes to complete. This problem gets more and more prevalent as the computer ages and as a user you will experience this when completing tasks.

In practical terms four minutes of lost time daily can have a significant cost burden for the business over the year with more than 12 hours of lost productivity in a year. Those twelve hours that are now missed due to the employee waiting for the system to load could have been used service your customers more efficiently and increase revenues. Now imagine if you have more than one system that is four years old. The reality is that the amount of lost time will increase with the age of the system. So, while the system is still operating, it is causing a financial loss to the business.

Security and older systems

The risk of hardware failure also increases with an aging machine. While all hardware will be covered by a manufacturer’s warranty for a period of time, this often expires before the system will show significant slowing down. To avoid unexpected out of pocket costs, it is advisable to have an IT strategy in place outlining when to replace hardware. Newer systems are also more secure benefiting from operating systems and software that can defend against modern threats. As time passes older systems fail to receive security updates and patches increasing the risk of a security incident.

Early warning signs of computer failure

There are several tell-tale signs that a system is beginning to age including:

• Performance tapers off as new software or apps are added with all functions beginning to slow down.
• There are issues with updating or installing the latest operating system.
• The user experiences trouble or issues with running essential software apps.
• The computers fans are running loudly due to the hardware running at max capacity.
• The device takes a long time to start up or shut down.

In reality, IT hardware will need to be replaced or upgraded at some point irrespective of how much the device originally cost to purchase. By planning out your IT strategy, business can schedule which devices need replaced and when, ensuring your staff are efficient and your customer s are happy with your service.