What’s the Best Replacement Cycle for Business PCs to Keep Our Office Productive?

As computers age, they naturally begin to have problems, get slower, and cause more downtime for businesses. But knowing when you need to set your replacement cycle can be confusing.

Some businesses target around 5 years, but statistics are showing that this may be too late.

Data from Intel and Microsoft both point at an optimum replacement cycle of about 3 years due to multiple factors.

For example, the Intel study on business PC replacement timeframe found the following statistics when comparing computers older than 4 years to those younger than 3 years.

• Downtime: Computers older than 4 years have 2x the downtime of those that are 3 years.
• Average Length of Tech Support Calls: Computers over 4 years had users on the phone 55% longer than those with PCs between 3-4 years old.
• Data Loss: Companies using PCs over 4 years of age lost data 3x more often than those with PCs less than 3 years.
• Data Breaches: Computers older than 4 years had 3x as many security breaches than those less than 3 years.

There are a number of problems that businesses can run into once their computers get past that 3 to 4 years mark, including cybersecurity issues, downtime costs, and more.

How Much Is Hanging Onto Old Business Computers Costing You?

While there are a number of signs your computer needs replacement, not all of them are as apparent as others to a business owner.

For example, you may have an employee that’s seeming to take longer than they have in the past to complete their work. You may just think it’s due to more calls or other interruptions, but it could be their too-old PC stealing minutes away each day.

According to Microsoft, old computers cost companies an average of $2,736 per year each to keep in operation.

What is holding onto your computers longer than you should costing you?

Productivity Costs

The average user spends 22 minutes a day dealing with technology issues. Multiply that by at least 2.5 times to reflect a PC older than 4 years, and that’s 55 minutes per day of lost productivity.

If your employee makes $20 per hour on average, that reflects a loss of $733 each week, or about $2,933 every month, which is more than the price of a typical new computer.

Downtime Costs

One of the biggest technology related costs that businesses deal with on a regular basis is downtime. When computers are down, they can bring work to a halt, either for one user or the entire office.

Computers older than 4 years were shown to have twice as much downtime as younger PCs, which equates to more losses for your business when a computer has “yet another problem.”

Downtime costs businesses of all sizes an average of $5,600 per minute, and it can cost small businesses in Sturgeon Bay and the rest of the country between $137 and $427 per minute.

Higher Potential for Data Breaches

Older PCs have more problems with data security, especially when they get older than 4 years. This can be due to a number of factors including lack of ability to upgrade software or operating systems.

The Microsoft study found that 40% of older PCs were still using older versions of Windows (like Windows 7), even though they no longer received crucial security updates.

The older the computer, the more at risk it can leave your business to ransomware and malware infections, data breaches, and other cybersecurity incidents.

More Risk of Data Loss

Another costly category for companies is data loss. One lost record can cost a company as much as $150 on average.

Older computers past 4-years old have three times as many data loss incidents as computers at the 3-year mark or younger. This is due to things like more susceptibility to hard drive crashes and hardware or software incompatibilities.

This leaves your business at a much higher risk of having to spend money to recreate data should an older business computer go down and take your data with it.

Growth Potential

If your technology is holding your employees back from doing their best work, your company could be missing out on growth potential. Not only do older PCs drain productivity, they also cause users to get frustrated that they can’t work as fast as they like to, stifling creativity.

Your older computers could also keep you from using new technologies that could help you automate processes to improve your efficiency. Technology specifications continue to evolve, which means that often newer software or hardware isn’t compatible with older PCs.

Is It Time to Replace Your Business Computers?

If your computers are past the 3 to 4-year mark, then a replacement could actually save you money. The team at Quantum PC Services can help you choose the best devices for your needs that are powerful and cost efficient.

Contact us today to talk computers! Call 920-256-1214 or reach us online.