Four key questions you should ask yourself every 3-4 years
The sun officially sets on Windows XP on April 8. It’s hard to believe XP is over 12 years old! Even though approximately 29% of all machines are running this operating system, its life is over. In fact, Microsoft will cease releasing any patches AND security fixes for this operating system after April 8th — which will become a serious issue for organizations that choose not to replace PC’s running the outdated operating system.
The “death” of Windows XP gives us the perfect opportunity to talk to you about knowing when to update your technology.
System Updates: Know When to Say When
While we understand organizations want to maximize their IT expenses, we recommend doing a review of you IT assets and how they are performing every three to four years.
During your assets and systems review, ASK:
- Do you have aging PC’s that are slow to boot and work on? If they are affecting employee productivity, it’s time for an update.
- How much is it costing you to maintain your aging servers and PC’s? Older systems that are in constant use generally require more service hours to maintain. A new PC should be fairly maintenance free for the first three years of its use.
- Do you have equipment in place that is slowing down your network? Older Local Area Network switches act as a backbone to your network and are responsible for interconnecting all devices plugged into it. As the size of your data has grown considerably over the years, so does the need to handle, move and access it over your network. Old legacy switches and wireless access points may not be up to the task and create bottlenecks.
- Do you have older firewalls and anti-virus software in use? Threats from malware, spyware and viruses is increasing. It’s critical that you have the latest generation firewall protection in place and your anti-virus software is up-to-date.
Have an IT question or concern? We’re here to help. Don’t hesitate to call (804) 918-7815 or send us an email.