The Cost of Procrastination

“Your server is out of warranty…”

“Your server is older than dirt…”

“You need to replace this TODAY!!!”

We have all had these conversations with clients. Unfortunately, we have all been ignored at least a couple of times only to see a massive failure resulting in a costly and time-consuming replacement. Over the past 2-3 years as the economy plummeted, just about every business out there had to take extreme measures to cut spending. Companies have reduced their IT budgets and been forced to “Band-Aid” their existing infrastructures in order to keep their business afloat. It is essentially gambling, but it was the only option they had in the failing economy. What should you do?

Well, it is time to start removing some of those “Band-Aids” and to start replacing some of that aged hardware. The economy is on the rebound and showing promise in just about all key market indicators. In talking to a number of our customers, I have seen just about everyone digging out of the holes they were in. The word “growth” is on everyone’s mind.

However, the challenge we face is being able to demonstrate to decision makers the value of being proactive and keeping hardware current. We need to remind them about that server(s) that they were “planning to replace once the economy recovers.” Pushing a server past its 4th, 5th, even 6th year almost always ends up costing considerably more money and downtime in the end. A proactive replacement can be scheduled in accordance with the business with the proper resources at each phase of the project. This greatly minimizes downtime and the risks involved with such a costly process.

In the event a server fails, the situation becomes an “all-hands-on-deck” rush to replace the hardware and recover data. Money and time is lost in rush shipping, off-hours billable time, and simple resource availability. The process of replacing failed hardware often takes longer since the steps are neither planned nor scheduled out. The business owner always ends up having to spend more money on the process when, ironically enough, they were trying to save a few dollars by milking an extra couple of months or years out of an old piece of hardware.

So, as we are moving out of this recession and companies are starting to realize profits again, it is time to blow the dust off of those project proposals you have shelved for the past 1-2 years. It is time to re-explain the financial benefits of being proactive and the incurred costs associated with old hardware failing.

Thrive Networks is in the business of customer service. Our job is to provide our customers with IT solutions to fit their business needs. This means keep our customers up and running, and help manage IT costs by being proactive and keeping infrastructures up-to-date. To learn more about how Thrive can help your organization, contact us today.

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