Like all other tech hardware or devices, physical servers have a set lifecycle of when they are performing at their peak, and when an upgrade is required.
An on-premise server, generally a significant IT investment, is one of the most critical pieces of equipment in supporting the operations of a business - so, it is important to ensure your server is well maintained with forecasted servicing and end-of-life planning.
Generally speaking, the recommended lifespan of a physical server is 3-4 years. After this period, the failure rate (and associated risk to your business) significantly increases.
When you consider the impact an ageing server can have on your business and the risks it creates, delaying the replacement of your server may in fact end up costing your business much more.
Here, we look at 5 reasons to update your business server.
Stronger Cybersecurity
Ageing servers are considered 'low hanging fruit' for sophisticated cybercriminals for a number of reasons. The older a server becomes; the longer cybercriminals have had to learn ways to break through your server safeguards.
In addition to this, the risk posed by less effective firmware updates and unsupported security patches is predominant in older servers, leaving your most critical operating system and business data open to malicious cyber threats.
In newer server infrastructure, security is at the forefront of design considerations for manufacturers, and an up-to-date security patch can be the difference between your server catching a potential ransomware attack, and your business data being locked down, or worse, breached and sold on the dark web.
Industry Regulation
Many industries are now required to meet international industry standards such as ISO 27001, so it’s important to consider that an outdated server with cybersecurity vulnerabilities can breach the compliance or regulatory requirements of your business.
We recommend working with your IT provider to ensure that your business server meets the requirements of applicable industry standards.
Better Performance
Research has found that on average, server performance reduces by 14% annually. As the performance of your server degrades, your operating system will begin to run slower as its processor struggles under the workload.
If your applications are operating extremely slow, or worse, crashing, your server is probably crying out to be upgraded. Working with a trusted IT partner to ensure the health of your servers are continually monitored allows forecasted performance issues to be nipped in the bud before they impact your business.
Business Growth
Is your current server capable of scaling with your forecasted growth? A key consideration in upgrading your server is not only its performance but its capability of supporting your business strategy. Are you planning to grow your team from 10 to 30 in the next year?
If your business is preparing for a forecasted period of growth, then it is time to upgrade your server to ensure it can support both your current needs while allowing for growth without performance being compromised.
Protect Against Business Disruption
Is a struggling server causing downtime for your business? Have you considered the downtime and lost revenue your business could experience if your server died completely?
Unfortunately, too many businesses are operating under a “we will just buy a new server when our current one dies” mentality. With the current global semiconductor chip shortages and poor stock availability caused by the pandemic, sourcing a new server at short notice could take up to 2 months before configuration and recovery could start.
Planning for the Future
Maintaining your on-premise business server with forecasted servicing and end-of-life planning is the best strategy to ensure your infrastructure is upgraded prior to a malfunction costing your business irreversible downtime.
How Diamond IT can Help
If you are still running Windows Server 2012 R2 or lower we strongly recommend you upgrade. Our team are here to ensure your infrastructure meets your strategic business needs and are experts in ensuring your IT investments are fit for purpose secure and supporting your technology roadmap.
If it's time to put a strategy in place to upgrade your server, contact our team today on 1300 307 907.
