Old Servers Die, and Dead Servers Kill Business
Businesses are always trying to cut costs and postpone
spending whenever possible. And when it comes to computer hardware, far too
many users are willing to wait until it's too late, forced to buy new servers
when the old ones fail completely. If you are experiencing poor response time,
system crashes, and downtime, you may be sacrificing productivity for the cost
of new equipment. Bad news: you on-track for complete technical meltdown. Here are a few important things to consider about deciding when to replace an aging server:
1. How much downtime can you afford?
When an old server dies, your business's operational functionality dies along with it. No e-mail, no internet, no file sharing, no access: you're stuck in crisis mode. Every minute cut off from your systems is a minute spent losing revenue. Proactively investing in new server hardware before your current systems fail means an increase in reliability and protection from costly outages.
2. How many people are using your current server?
The more people using server based applications (anything that shares data across your network, like accounting or CRM software), the more a new server will improve your business. If a new server saves one minute on a process performed 10 times per day by 12 people, you've already saved 2 hours per day of time that would otherwise be wasted.
3. How old is the current server?
Technology changes regularly and the effective life of a server is approximately 5-8 years. If your server is older than this, hardware failures are highly likely and the operating efficiency of the server is lower than it was when you bought it. A new server can perform tasks and deliver data to your users more quickly, improving productivity by leaps and bounds.
4. Is the current server still under warranty?
Server warrantees are not just random numbers. They are worked out by a team of actuaries figuring when the hardware will most likely fail, and then setting the warranty period to end right before the server dies. So if yours have recently gone out of warranty, you're likely due for an outage. Also, being out of warranty means that replacement parts and repairs will take longer and cost more.
5. What else could a new server be doing for you?
Averting the death of your current server shouldn't be the only reason to get excited about installing a new one. Take it as an opportunity to reevaluate your business processes and identify ones that new hardware could be improving and making faster. The best example is data backup: If your data outgrows your server, it can lead to incomplete backups and force you to choose how much of your data you really need.
As you can see, investing in a replacement server isn't a luxury or an option-- it's a necessary investment in your productivity and peace of mind. Call Responza's dedicated IT consultants at (206) 762-5100 today or , and we'll bring back your networks from a state of impending death and outage.
To directly observe how much time and money replacing your servers could be saving you, here's a remarkable tool created by our friends at Intel, whose renowned processors power the Dell hardware we provide and maintain for customers every day.
http://www.intelsalestraining.com/xeonestimator/demo.htm