Technology is important for any business and without it, you’ll struggle to compete. It helps you to streamline processes and make things more efficient and it improves the level of service that you can give to customers. The only problem with all of that great tech is that it changes fast. It’s always evolving and new tools are being introduced to the business world all the time. If your competitors are using the latest tech and you aren’t, they’ll be able to offer a service that you simply can’t match. But if you start buying new software as soon as it comes out, you’ll end up spending a huge amount of money on it. You don’t need to spend money on every single piece of tech but you do need to update when the time is right. So, how can you tell when your business needs a tech update?

Struggling To Open Documents

This is one of the most obvious signs that your computer systems are out of date. If you’re sent a document and you struggle to open it because it was created on a newer operating system, you’re in big trouble. Usually, files will work on operating systems that are a few steps back so if you’re struggling, that means you’re behind by quite a long way. If you haven’t installed the latest version of Microsoft Office, you should. Check out this Office apps blog for more information on the benefits of updating your operating system. Things will run a lot faster and you won’t have any issues opening documents that people send you.

Things Are Always Breaking

Even if your software is up to date, that doesn’t mean you won’t run into problems. If you’re no longer surprised when somebody comes to tell you that the computers are down or the printer is bust, you’ve got a serious issue. That’s an indication that your hardware needs updating. Employers often put this off because replacing all of the computers in the office is going to be incredibly expensive but you’ll be wasting more money in the long run. Whenever a computer breaks down, you’re losing money because that employee can no longer work until it’s fixed again. If the entire office goes down, you’re in real trouble. Faster computers also means that you’ll be more efficient generally which will increase revenue. Most computers have a lifespan of about 5 years, after which, you need to think about replacing them.

Employees Are Leaving

Employees leaving isn’t always an obvious symptom of bad technology but often, it’s one of the factors. If your staff are constantly getting frustrated by slow computers and they feel as though they aren’t being provided with the tools that they need to do their job properly, that can really contribute to employee dissatisfaction. If you are finding that employees are leaving at an alarming rate, speak to them and ask them what their reasons are. If they’re telling you that they’re fed up of navigating your outdated tech, you need to update it right away.

These are the 3 biggest signs that your business needs to update it’s tech so watch out for them.

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