More for less: Why is upgrading important in today's economic climate?

#KingstonCognate introduces Rob May

Rob May is the founder and Managing Director of ramsac, he has a team of over 100 consultants working with him to deliver Technology and Cyber security services/support (and has done so for over 30 years).

Rob is the UK Ambassador for Cyber Security for the Institute of Directors, and is ranked No. 5 in the Global rankings for Cyber Security Thought Leaders/Influencers. He is on the Advisory Board of The Cyber Resilience Centre for the South East, working with industry, academia, and law enforcement. He is also an author, a thought leader, and an award-winning international speaker.

So, what have been the drivers for organisations to upgrade their existing IT infrastructure?

Organisations are getting more efficient when it comes to keeping up with technology and security. Changes in Operating Systems and versions going “end of supportable life” necessitate change. Following the rush to remote working during the pandemic, firms have had the chance to address mistakes and assess their longer term needs to meet the needs of modern applications and systems. Regulation, and evolving security standards are driving the need for increased cyber capabilities and in turn better performance from the IT infrastructure.

Other factors that have pushed organisations to upgrade their existing IT infrastructure are:

• Improved performance

• Improved user experience

• Technological obsolescence

• Business growth

• Security and compliance

• Virtualisation and cloud computing

• Cost savings and optimisation

• Agility

• Digital transformation

How has upgrading opened the eyes of organisations in extending the life of their devices?

Organisations are increasingly recognising the ecological impact of replacing whole systems and are instead opting for upgrading certain components like DRAM and SSD instead when necessary. Ensuring longevity requires the kind of long-term planning that might have been missed during the pandemic's rush to remote working. By extending the life of devices through upgrading rather than replacing entire systems, organisations can potentially lengthen their tech-refresh cycle from 3-5 years.

Traditionally, many companies have been inclined to regularly replace their equipment, whether computers, servers, smartphones or other technological devices. Upgrading has helped many organisations to derive more value and extend the lifetime of existing investments. With hardware and software enhancements, a lot of equipment can support more advanced features despite being older kit.

Over the last 3 years organisations have had to cope with enormous cost increases, first in facilitating lockdowns, then the energy crisis and the continuing high cost of many commodities. Upgrading has a sustainability advantage with making use of existing systems and saving much needed budget.

Can upgrading existing hardware cope with the growth of emerging and maturing technologies?

With this it depends on the use case. If your revenue doesn't depend on technology transformations, yes. But with the rise in the Internet of Things (IoT) and other advancements, organisations may want to consider investing in new hardware or scalable Cloud solutions. Also, as organisations adopt new technologies and scale their operations, having hardware that can handle the increased workloads and data volume is essential.

It is ultimately about getting the balance right and squeezing every ounce of capability out of the infrastructure and applications. By keeping hardware up to date, organisations can embrace emerging technologies, unlock their full potential and stay competitive in this digital landscape.

Some take the view that it makes sense to upgrade only when multiple upgrades are required (memory, CPU, and storage) so as to be cost effective due to the labour required, otherwise it might make more cost-effective sense to replace the machine. It really depends where you are on that upgrade journey.

Upgraded infrastructure with modern architectures like cloud, virtualisation and containerisation can support new technologies such as AI, automation, edge computing etc. Upgrades also allow integration with new data platforms to improve business processes.

Technology is moving at a pace we have not seen before. Compatibility will be a sticking point, but the opportunity to increase performance through things like NVMe SSDs pose many benefits to optimising architecture.

Be aware that upgrading isn't always enough, new technology may be required because something just won't run on legacy platforms. An Operating System that is “end-of-life” is a huge cybersecurity risk and old server hard drives with moving parts and old software reach a point where they simply must go!

What about next generation platforms? Should organisation replace today?

Organisations firstly need to determine compatibility and integration challenges between existing hardware and next generation platform to ensure that this does not interrupt current operations as part of their long-term strategy. Competition drives company performance and revenue upgrading could increase market share.

Next-generation platforms play an important role in the evolution of technologies and business practices. They are designed to take advantage of technological advances, such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, cloud computing and the Internet of Things.

For some organisations, replacing legacy systems right away may not be feasible due to budget constraints or competing priorities. A phased upgrade approach is suitable here:

1. Replace components critical for security, compliance, or performance
2. Migrate to new platforms in phases by starting with select systems or functions
3. Upgrade to technologies that provide compatibility with existing systems
4. Plan a 3–5-year roadmap to completely revamp infrastructure and software

Organisations need to be continually looking at the horizon, understanding what is coming down the line and planning. We now use much more video which is hungry in terms of processing power, storage, and connectivity, and of course the inevitable greater use of AI.