Security Risks of using an Outdated Software
Technology is the key to a successful business and software is the pulse of your technology. Outdated software risk, which is also known as legacy software, cannot be overlooked within a business. A business should replace the old software before any critical issue occurs. This issue can be detrimental to your business if you do not upgrade it with a new system. However, upgrading your software is not an overnight decision and comes with many challenges like staff training, data migration, etc.
Let’s discuss a few issues that can be detrimental for your business if you do not change your outdated software:
1. Increased failure rate
We all live and work in an on-demand society, where your customers expect uninterrupted and reliable services that are available at their leisure. While using outdated or legacy software, if any unavoidable issue occurs, then you and your customers can face a service downturn. This issue can damage your brand image and you can lose your customers to your competitors, who probably have new or better software. Outdated software risk may slow down your business growth.
Increased failure rates can also have an impact on your pocket with extra costs, such as:
- If you have outdated software risk, then you can lose some of your sales.
- Outdated software risk affects employee productivity as a lot of time will be wasted in fixing and maintaining software.
- IT and data recovery costs also can affect your pocket.
- Your brand image can go down.
2. Regulatory and legal outdated software risk
You can be a prime target for data thieves and hackers if your software is outdated. If you are not focusing on updating your software, then you can increase the risk for your business. You can break regulations if you are using outdated software. Although there are laws on data storage that ensures your data is secure, but if your technology is unsupported, then you might face detrimental consequences. It is more important to have data security as many companies do online transactions to avoid outdated software security risk.
3. Increased cost
Outdated or legacy software can be costly to maintain. Although, the new software will come at a price, but you will likely face less risk and will be able to save money in the long run. Updated or new software ensures that your employees are well-armed with the right technology. The outdated software security risk is likely to use more electricity, which can also add to the cost factor in your budget.
4. Security
A Microsoft study shows that with updated technology, companies can avoid 70-80% of top malware detected. Old software puts your company data at risk all the time. The purpose of the update is to fix the security flaws. Many automatically rolled cloud-based software are there to give you security updates and protect your business data. However, if you are using any unsupported and outdated technology, the critical updates will not be available and your data can be breached. Outdated software risk means you are more vulnerable to attack by hackers and data thieves.
Perks of upgrading to new software:
- Upgrading your software can reduce your IT costs by 66%.
- It will help you to compete against large organizations.
- Using a cloud can help you with security advantages.
- Updated or new software allows you to grow your business faster by 49%, whereas outdated software risks may slow down your business.
- The upgraded software will add new features, which will help you to work smoothly.
It is even more important and essential for a business to have the right software, as technology continues to develop. By upgrading your software, you ensure that you are ready for the future and are in a good position to compete with other competitors out there. With an updated armory which is your software, you will have the power to manage your processes, connect your departments, and grow your business faster.