Pursuing the New

Three factors should be considered when purchasing new or upgraded computer gear: securityusage, and budget. Upgrading equipment is necessary at times but it’s not always necessary to get rid of old equipment. New equipment has its obvious uses, but older equipment can be reassigned and not thrown away saving a significant amount of money. For instance, an older computer can be used as a print server for printing documents, or for a file server which shares files with a network of computers.

An example of a security aspect that should be considered when upgrading computers is the life cycle of operating systems including but not limited to Windows XP, Windows 7, and Windows 10. The life cycle of a computer operating system is the length of time that the manufacturer of the software will provide security updates and other various kinds of updates — when the life cycle of the software has expired, security patches are no longer provided and so the operating system requiring them is generally not as secure as a computer with an upgraded operating system.

Sometimes computer operating systems become so outdated regardless of how secure they are, leaving them a tedious platform to use as a way to run updated computer programs — apps! Sometimes the best way to solve these types of problems is by upgrading the operating system although in some cases that is not an option and upgraded computer hardware is needed first in order to run the updated operating system.

A business’ budget is certainly one of the primary driving factors behind when, how, and whether to upgrade. As a tip, managing a budget does not always have to be a “black or white” issue. If upgraded computer programs or apps are needed, it’s not always necessary to spend money. For example, if upgraded “word processor” software is needed such as Microsoft Word, try downloading OpenOffice Writer — it is free and has a built-in feature to convert documents to pdf files which are readable by most types of computers without having to set up the feature.

Upgrading, in general, can be tedious depending on what needs to be done — it doesn’t have to be. Usually, the time it takes to research options is something that some do not have to spare. Whole I.T. Solutions can help streamline the process. Please contact us.

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