Businesses are always looking for ways to stay current and ensure they are modernizing successfully. This could be ramping up your presence online, improving your design or even using some of the Microsoft Teams applications you need to know about.

However, not everyone is on board. There are still plenty of companies using legacy systems that have not been modernized or updated. While these might be what people are comfortable with, that doesn’t make them the right choice. In fact, there could actually be several costs and issues caused by failing to modernize.

Without any further ado, let’s go over some of the costs and drawbacks that go along with failing to modernize your legacy business processes.

Maintenance and Ownership Costs

Many of these older legacy systems come with considerably higher maintenance costs. Trying to maintain an old or outdated process or piece of technology is not always an easy job. Simply adapting a new process would generally be less expensive, but many companies still using legacy solutions are quite resistant to change. In addition to companies, the government is also spending a considerable amount on older legacy systems.

Also, if you host software on location, you are likely paying more than you need. With options such as Azure and AWS available, you can generally save money and be more efficient by using their servers. Making updates to legacy systems or infrastructure can be an issue, as well. 

Subpar User Experiences

Another drawback and potential cost of using older legacy systems is the subpar user experience they offer. These are generally slower, can often crash and simply won’t perform as well as some modern options will. This can all make it more difficult for employees to do their jobs in a timely manner, which can have a major impact on the productivity of your company as a whole.

This could also have an impact on the customer experience, if the employee isn’t able to use the older software or hardware as intended. The customer expectation, as well as what is common in your industry, is always changing and updating. If you can’t stay up to date with these changes like your competition, you could lose customers.

Many of these legacy systems are also notoriously difficult to scale, which can make things difficult if your company grows or shrinks over time. Also, training new staff on these older legacy systems that they have no experience with can be quite challenging, as well.

Potential Security Threats

For modern businesses, few things are more important than security. With more and more businesses operating online, the threat of cyber attacks like hacks or data breaches is growing. These have the potential to cost companies a ton of money, which could even lead to them going out of business.

Unfortunately for the companies that use them, legacy systems can be more at risk for these types of attacks. This is because they are often no longer supported or getting updates, and vulnerabilities that do exist can be very difficult to fix. While there are several things that companies can do to defend themselves, many legacy systems and processes simply aren't adequately able to do so.

As you can see, there are several costs associated with failing to modernize your legacy business processes. Many of these issues can lead to massive financial costs for your business, as well. It can be a lot of work at times, but is certainly the better choice for the future of your company.

If you are ready or need some guidance on updating your organization's business processes the team at PAIT Group is here to help.    Let our Modern Workplace Strategists  develop a strategic plan for long-term effectiveness that optimizes your organization's investment in Microsoft 365, SharePoint, and Teams.