How to tell when your IT infrastructure needs updating?

6 Signs You Must Upgrade Your IT Infrastructure

To help you understand when you need to upgrade your IT infrastructure, here are 6 signs it’s time to enhance your business’s IT.

1. Inefficient Workflows & Processes

If your organisation uses multiple applications for one task, your IT infrastructure may not be functioning as effectively as possible. You should ensure that you’re using software and hardware that matches your requirements. Installing a bespoke IT infrastructure ensures that the applications you’re using are tailored for your operations.

Optimising your IT infrastructure is a cost-effective long-term strategy. Relying on multiple systems to fulfil a role where one application will do can cost you more money than necessary. Update your IT infrastructure today to streamline your use of technology and improve productivity, reduce costs, and increase operational efficiency.

2. Lack of Scalability

After a period of rapid growth, to sustain your success, you need to scale your operations to match your new requirements. Expansion may be necessary in order to employ more staff or even to acquire more storage space, however, the transition may mean you need to invest in different applications that are relevant to your new operations. One way to evolve and scale your processes is by transitioning to the cloud.

Cloud computing allows for more flexibility, scalability, and collaboration between employees. Furthermore, cloud computing can assist you to move your entire team onto the same software platform. If your employees use a variety of operating systems, the cloud will allow them to all operate with the same up-to-date software.

3. Decreased Productivity

Slow applications, software, and hardware all have an impact on your business’s operations. When employees have to wait for an application to load, this affects their productivity, and can cause frustration. Inefficiency across your IT infrastructure leads to your team delivering a lower-quality service that is at risk of suffering unplanned downtime too. If IT faults are commonplace, this can demotivate employees. Staff want to have pride in their work and the company they work for. They want to deliver results, so give them the tools to do so with a high-quality, up-to-date IT infrastructure.

4. Adapted Work Practices

Over time, working practices evolve. This could be because of advances in technology, staff changeovers, staff working remotely, or a shift in business strategy. Whatever the reason, you should adapt your IT infrastructure to match your operational requirements. A change in work practices may mean the applications you’re using no longer deliver effective results, and you need to update your IT infrastructure.

Updating elements of your IT infrastructure regularly doesn’t have to be a bad thing. While your IT shouldn’t be the subject of every internal meeting, an IT company can continually adapt your IT infrastructure to configure your applications to match them to your processes.

5. Increased Energy Bills

In the current climate, many business owners are checking their energy bills and looking at ways to reduce costs without impacting operations. Your IT infrastructure will use energy to run hardware 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to keep your data secure. If your technology is older, it will often cause the equipment to utilise more energy, which may lead to the hardware developing issues.

Investing in new technology may require an initial outlay, but it can save you money on energy bills long-term. The latest applications and hardware require less energy to cool and operate, so are a cost-effective investment for your business.

6. Security

Threats to cyber security have increased over the last 2 years, making it vital for businesses to consider if they have any vulnerabilities, and how to address them, when they are updating their infrastructure.

Upgrading your IT infrastructure means you benefit from the latest security software to help secure your business against cyber attacks.

The Benefits of Upgrading Your IT Infrastructure

At Bluecube, IT infrastructure management entails more than ensuring your business’s hardware, software, networks, and cloud services are operational. As part of our managed IT services, our dedicated team takes the time to understand your objectives and tailor your IT infrastructure to match your operations. Every element of our service is designed to improve your operational efficiency, increase productivity, and reduce the risk of security breaches or unplanned downtime.

During strategy meetings with your business, we'll review your IT infrastructure, assessing whether your legacy systems are ill-equipped to facilitate collaboration, you're trying to keep up with your competitors, or staff productivity is rapidly falling. Bluecube is dedicated to making your hardware, software, and networks run quickly and efficiently.

Call Bluecube today on 0845 257 8010 or visit our contact page to fill in an enquiry form.