It’s often said: you never quite appreciate something until you lose it. As a business, you can take your software for granted – until it quits on you one day.
You’ve probably experienced downtime with some applications and you know how frustrating such a situation is: employees can’t work, projects grind to a halt and the company’s growth is ultimately affected.
You must be thinking…
Why should I spend money on something I have already paid for? Perhaps your software option cost you tons of money, and you thought that was it. Think of your software just like a car. No matter the car’s quality, it requires servicing and constant monitoring.
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Here are three reasons software maintenance is a must-do for your company.
It Saves Money
As mentioned earlier, your software is much like a car. If you leave it to chance, it will wither and become dysfunctional. While maintaining your software may sound like an expensive endeavor, it actually saves you money in the long run. Maintaining your software periodically means that you are unlikely to suffer unexpected downtime and crashes.
This also means your calls to IT solution companies are reduced, and you can save money for other projects in your company. Using the Best application monitoring tools can help ensure you stay on top of your applications and avoid any crashes that will cripple your workflow.
Also, your software lasts much longer ensuring you don’t have to completely replace your software earlier than you anticipated.
Upgrades
The technological landscape is not static: there are a series of constant changes, and software must be able to adapt accordingly. Furthermore, users may discover needs that evaded them earlier. The more employees use software, the more ideas spring up on how to make the software efficient for the role it’s being used to perform.
New upgrades usually have new or improved features, as well as upgraded functionality in a bid to increase your efficiency, scalability, performance, and security. Upgrades often autocorrect bugs in previous versions of the software. If Adobe were not fixing bugs on the applications on its suit, would you keep using it? Most likely not.
This might be a reason for bad code, or any system failure, which causes unexpected results. Bugs can also appear due to any change or modification in the hardware, platform, framework, software version upgrade, or any related (3rd party or direct) part of the software.
No one wants to be stuck with an old version of software while the rest of the world has moved on. It would feel like using the first iteration of the iPhone series while the rest of the world uses iPhone X.
Consistent and periodic upgrades ensure that quality is not compromised and it also reduces the risk of downtimes or crashes.
Business Growth
Which business doesn’t want to grow? Certainly not yours. Every business is poised to go every length to secure growth in every department.
For instance, as your business scales, your software needs to scale accordingly. If you were running the software that could deal with data of say, a thousand clients, once you get to move beyond that mark, the software may experience downtimes because it wasn’t designed for that purpose.
So if you really want to do business as a global entity and move markets, you need constant software maintenance and upgrades that will keep you in step with the progress of your business.
Compliance
The software regime is run in a world of strict laws, owing to challenges and issues to always crop up with regards to privacy and protection of consumers’ data. Periodic maintenance and upgrades can help ensure that your company stays the course and avoids any legal wrangling or disputes.
Conclusion
Your software is not immortal: it is bound to wobble after some time. The way to give your software longevity is to take care of it through constant monitoring and maintenance. This will save you from unexpected downtime, unnecessary costs and keep your business well-oiled for success.
Featured image source: Freepik
