The server in your office could be a ticking time bomb, according to Stephen Shramo, a managed IT services tech with Intelligent Technical Solutions. In this article, learn how to spot the warning signs that your server is about to fail.
If your server is more than a few years old, it may not be able to support the latest versions of the software your business depends on every day. That could force you to buy a new server in order to stay operational after a software update.
"You're talking about $10,000 or $15,000 for a new server, just so you can update a piece of software that you already spent thousands of dollars on,” Shramo says. "You might have budgeted $4,000, and suddenly you're looking at $20,000. That's a big jump."
4 Warning Signs You Need a New Server
Is your server approaching five years old? Watch for these failure warning signs.
- You are getting "No longer supported" error messages.
- Your server is running slow.
- Your server is running out of space.
- Your server is five years old, or at the end of its warranty.
Servers have a limited lifespan because the mechanical and electrical components eventually wear out.
"The physical parts moving inside break down over time, just like a car breaks down,” Shramo says.
Also, as faster processors come out, software updates are designed to work at a faster rate to take advantage of that hardware. That can quickly lead to software no longer being supported by an older server.
"If you're at the five-year mark, you're either past due for an upgrade, or you should be upgrading soon because the software and hardware have advanced too far,” Shramo says.
Would You Run Your Business on a 10-year-old iPhone?
The average American upgrades to a new smartphone in less than two years, according to Statista. Yet many businesses keep running their old servers for 10 years or more.
"They don't realize that the phone in their pocket is more powerful than the device that's keeping their business alive,” Shramo says. "Imagine downgrading from an iPhone 8 to an iPhone 3, and then imagine that your entire business is running on that slower device. Do you really want that?”
The Hidden Advantage of a Cloud Server
Rather than risk, an eventual server failure, businesses are increasingly migrating to the cloud. Cloud servers are continually upgraded to the latest high-end enterprise-level hardware, which eliminates the need to replace servers every few years.
"That's an advantage of going to the cloud. You don't pay for the physical server. You just pay a monthly fee, and we continuously upgrade the hardware to make sure everything keeps running properly,” Shramo says.
Eliminate Server Headaches with Managed IT Services
Even if your server is brand-new, you can still improve its efficiency and security with managed IT services from Intelligent Technical Solutions, a leading managed IT services provider.
Get a free managed services consultation and find out how ITS can keep your server running safe and secure. Contact ITS today.
