Are you clinging onto your familiar application or database because it is “good enough” and serves your operational needs “just right”? Although the current application and technology may be familiar and works ‘fine’; the hidden risks can result in very big problems. In one of our previous posts we have spoken about the costs of hanging onto your legacy software. This article focuses on the associated risks of using an outdated software and how using the modern technology facilitates better return on investment.
Using outdated software is a risky business
Change can be overwhelming; however in this competitive era, businesses need to analyse the dangers of using an outdated technology and understand its impact to their growth and profitability. Outlined below are 5 key effects of using an aging technology for operational needs.
Loss of Competitiveness – Outdated technology restricts you from effectively communicating with customers, foreseeing upselling/cross-selling opportunities and closing more deals. In the current ‘Age of the Customer’; these lost opportunities spell doom for businesses.
Reduced IT Flexibility – Modern technology equips businesses with the tools and data for informed decision making and better collaboration. Businesses stuck with legacy systems are unable to take advantage of these resources.
Limited Responsiveness within the organisation – On-boarding a new employee or using the software to deploy new apps is highly limiting with legacy software. Businesses using aging technology tend to spend too much time and effort responding to client enquiries and managing infrastructure instead of planning for the company’s future. Developing new apps or mobile ready platform for your legacy software is likely to be either impossible or require monstrous amount of work.
Security Issues – With an aging software; organisations are prone to data loss and security threats that can negatively impact company goodwill. Applications based on aging technology suffer from “software rot”. Also known as code rot or bit rot; software rot as a process of either a slow deterioration of performance over time or its diminishing responsiveness that will eventually lead to software becoming faulty and unusable.
Talent Shortage – Developers and programmers prefer to stay up-to-date on the technology. As a result it will be quite difficult and expensive for businesses to find developers or talent to fix any part of their outdated software.
Based on the above factors; it is obvious that using applications based on outdated or aging technology exposes your organisation to security threats and vulnerabilities in addition to increased downtime and loss of productivity. If a major portion of your software budget is directed towards the maintenance and upkeep of the application; then it is time to reconsider your technology investment.
Choosing a versatile application development platform
Before choosing a technology to build your application, it is important to evaluate the technology’s features and product roadmap before zeroing in on the right software to base your application on. Some of the key factors to assess include:
Platform Independence – The right technology must offer platform independence and needs to be flexible enough to seamlessly support different types of architecture. Also users need to be able to deploy the technology on different OSs and devices. Migrating to and from the technology also needs to be simple and straightforward.
Reporting Features – An ideal technology for your application must come with user dashboards, self-service reporting and presentation features. It needs to provide the ability to create and share interactive graphs and distribute visual and graphical data to internal and external stakeholders.
Protection against Obsolescence – Organisations must choose a technology that has a strong product roadmap. Hence companies need to study the software trends, technology provider’s investment plans and frequency of software updates offered.
Integration Capability – Organisations seldom use a single system for all their business activities. As such the right technology must offer easy options to integrate with commonly used software platforms. The chosen technology environment also needs to be scalable for businesses to include functionality as they grow.
Training and Support – In addition to being easy to work with; businesses need to evaluate the talent, training and support available for the chosen technology.
Why Microsoft Dynamics 365 is the Ideal Technology
Microsoft has been around for over 40 years with hundreds of thousands of applications developed using ASP.NET, the .NET framework, SharePoint and Dynamics CRM. Microsoft technologies are well known for their agility and versatility and the latest Dynamics 365 is no different.
Dynamics 365 combines ERP and CRM capabilities enabling users to design, develop and deploy intelligent business applications; for sales, customer service, finance, operations and marketing divisions. Microsoft is also providing businesses with the flexibility to start with the modules most relevant to their immediate requirements and add as their business requirements change.
The first Dynamics 365 update released in December 2016 provides enhanced features that are in tune with the latest technological trends. Microsoft Dynamics 365 promises a strong roadmap with some interesting functions; focused at increasing customer engagement and driving better return on investment; thereby making it the perfect choice for developing custom software applications.
Empower IT has used Microsoft Dynamics CRM (now part of Dynamics 365); and related technologies for modernising legacy applications for many large and medium enterprises. The team has successfully recreated similar application interfaces for clients and can do the same for your organisation too. Are you still using an application that is aging towards obsolescence? If you wish to reap the benefits of Dynamics 365; call 1300 797 888 right away to discuss your business objectives.
