Everyone knows mistakes happen. Sometimes they can be avoided and fixed, but often it’s after considerable damage has been caused. Many times a mistake doesn’t even appear to be one. It’s only after much money has been lost that a business will start to re-evaluate its previous decisions and actions.
Like any other business unit, your IT department is not immune to errors. All it takes is one poor decision and error in judgment to cost a company thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of dollars. To avoid this situation, you must be on the lookout for processes or expenses that seem unusually high or time-consuming.
Not Upgrading Bad Corporate Security
Cybercriminals are making their mark on corporate businesses. They steal data, customer information, critical records, and can infect hardware or hold it for ransom. One of the worst things you can do right now is stick with your old security measures.
Viruses and other cyber threats are steadily getting stronger, more agile, and harder to detect. Old firewalls and other security touch points won’t do much to protect your business from these kinds of attacks. And when an attack finally happens, it will cost you dearly. According to the 2016 Cost of Data Breach Study, the average cost of a data breach has reached $4 million. If you’re still relying on old security software, you need to upgrade fast or pay the price.
Related: Establish a Full Security Fabric to Replace Ineffective Security Measures
Continued Use of Old IT Systems
The adage of you don’t fix what isn’t broken doesn’t apply to this first costly IT mistake. Problems arising from legacy applications are one of the most difficult issues IT employees can face. As businesses continue to gather and exchange more data, old systems struggle to the detriment of companies everywhere. Yet, 57% of organization admit to using technology that’s more than five years old.
Legacy systems can cause many problems. The application may use outdated technology or best practices that no longer encompass the ones of your IT department. They can leave your IT team in the dark with incomplete and inaccurate documentation, and it may be that the original developers have long since disappeared to help solve a problem. An old application can also create huge vulnerabilities in your network. If it hasn’t been updated in years, there could be wide open opportunities waiting for hackers to pounce.
When maintenance costs for these legacy systems are looked at, an IT Manager would get heart palpitations. For maintenance alone, legacy systems are costing businesses 10-15% more each year by some estimations. Some companies are even spending up to 80% of their IT budget ($62 billion annually) just to keep these systems in operation. It’s time to fix this mistake and spend that IT budget elsewhere.
The silver lining here is that mistakes can be fixed—sometimes easily and sometimes not. The sooner you fix them, though, the less amount of damage will be done. To avoid costing your business thousands of dollars, replace your old legacy systems and strengthen your security measures.
