Your business’s IT infrastructure is hardly evergreen. The rate at which technology is evolving today coupled with the rising rate of cyberattacks make staying up to date with your technology, both hardware and software, imperative. But security is not the only risk you encounter with aging technology, you must also consider the risk that the aging hardware poses. With older equipment, you run the risk of hardware failures, outages, and data corruption. And if your equipment is old enough it could be tricky to track down replacement parts which could result in lengthy downtime affecting your bottom line.
Hardware Longevity
The average lifespan of a server is around three to five years, but it can vary based on workloads and maintenance. A hard drive (HDD) lasts about six years, as spinning disks wear out after continuous usage. Failing hard drives can result in considerable data loss, and any attempt to retrieve lost data may cause further damage to the disks. In addition to worn out disks, bit rot may set in. Bit rot is the deterioration of the integrity of the data stored on an aging disk. Excessive wear, the presence of contaminants, radiation and extreme warmth can all contribute to bit rot.
Aging Network Devices
In today’s wireless age, infrastructure that supports mobility can often be overlooked and present a serious security risk. Aging routers may not be updated with the latest software patches, and as a result may transmit over insecure channels, leaving data exposed. Older devices may not be able to support WPA3 encryption standards and may also not be able to meet increasing network demands such as increasing bandwidth requirements. Overall, these issues run the risk of impacting performance and ultimately end-user experience.
IT Inflexibility
While retaining legacy IT gear can help keep monetary expenses down, you may end up paying for it elsewhere in different ways. Older IT equipment does not always have the functionality to support state of the art applications, and as a result can limit business growth. Additionally, supporting end-of-life gear can be a drain to IT staff. Firms can be backed into a corner where the inflexibility of aging IT estate limits choices, and ultimately impacts revenue.
Ready to Move Forward?
It is unsustainable to maintain aging IT equipment as this increases the risk of downtime, data loss and increased security vulnerabilities. But issues with aging infrastructure go beyond technical challenges – they can cripple productivity, impact business reputation and become a financial drain across an organization. Read more about The True Cost of Legacy Systems in our blog here.
Learn about the current state of your environment and identify next steps to build a smarter, more secure infrastructure with Align’s experts. We provide strategic infrastructure planning to support your growing business needs.
