3 Ways Upgrading Outdated Legacy Tech Can Give You a Competitive Edge
Muncie, IN BLOG – Outdated legacy tech is costing many companies more than they think. For example, the maintenance cost of a new PC is $168 a year, which rises to $780 a year for a PC using an outdated operating system, plus $400 to $500 per repair, Cetan Corp estimates. Outdated technology also hurts productivity and employee engagement, collectively costing companies $550 billion a year, Forrester Consulting research reports. Outdated tech can also damage your reputation and cost you customers, with nine out of 10 consumers responding to a Microsoft survey saying they would consider taking their business elsewhere if they suspect a company is relying on out-of-date technology.
An upside to this is that if you upgrade your technology, you may be gaining a competitive advantage on rivals who aren’t. Here are three places you may be able to gain an edge on competitors who are failing to keep their legacy tech upgrades up to speed.
Upgrading Server Infrastructure
Relying on outdated server infrastructure hardware is a fundamental legacy technology drag for many companies. One in four companies are using physical servers that predate 2014, meaning they’re relying on an infrastructure at least a dozen generations older than current technology, TSO Logic says. This is causing workloads to require a larger number of servers than necessary. In addition, one in four on-premise virtual machines are over-provisioned, wasting resources and causing more hardware expenditures than needed.
Companies can save considerably by upgrading hardware to more current generation servers and reconfiguring virtual machines correctly, or by moving server infrastructure to the cloud. Implementing these strategies can reduce the amount of server infrastructure needed by 54 percent, says TSO Logic.
Adopting a Contact Center Platform
Outdated customer service technology is another area where many companies are falling behind the times. Half of global call centers are using outdated desktop solutions over five years old, says Forrester. This can slow down your efficiency as well as hurt your customer satisfaction ratings and reputation.
Technologically competitive companies are increasingly moving away from desktop on-premise solutions to cloud contact center platforms. Using a cloud contact center enables a company’s representatives to manage ticket centers originating from all contact channels through a single interface, providing customers with a more seamless experience as tickets move from one channel to another. Cloud contact centers also allow companies to better leverage customer service analytics and remote worker strategies for greater efficiency.
Keeping Security Current
Relying on outdated call center technology can also create security risks, with 72 percent of agents exposing customers to data theft risk by requiring sensitive information to be read over the phone, a recent survey of 500 customer service professionals found. This illustrates another area where many companies are falling behind technologically. Nearly seven out of ten companies are relying on outdated security solutions, Ponemon Institute research says.
Ponemon’s research indicated that there are two key areas where security upgrades would benefit most companies. One is developing the capability to monitor users across the enterprise. The other is developing ability to keep up with emerging attacks. Using a cross-platform security solution and implementing artificial intelligence monitoring of company networks can assist with these issues.
Server infrastructure, contact center platform selection, and security are three areas where keeping your technology current is crucial to stay competitive. Upgrading your capabilities on these fronts can help you stay ahead of rivals who are still relying on outdated legacy tech and give you a competitive edge.
