The network refresh cycle in equipment has reached an all-time high according to the 2016 Network Barometer Report. As of right now, more than half of your network switches, routers and wireless devices are either in a period of depreciation or obsolete. In many cases, organizations are still trying to rebound from the recession when updating equipment wasn’t the highest priority.

The lifetime of your typical networking equipment will range three to five years or perhaps six to eight years depending on whom you ask (we recommend the former). Even though elements of your networks may be working properly, there could be older hardware keeping your network behind. Things such as mobile density in bandwidth could be keeping your expectations low for your network.

End of Support

This is one of the biggest reasons why the end of life hardware and licensing could put your business in a bad place. Terminating services to a product such as Windows Small Business Server means you may be risking services that provide crucial patching and security updates. This is also a big deal if you plan on adding seats to your company this year. If you are running on support for only 20-25 licenses then it’s definitely a time to upgrade. If you can’t imagine extra budget toward a refresh this year, consider some of these options:

Leasing Equipment

Having to upgrade your IT infrastructure comes with the territory of using technology; the trick is to make upgrading as easy as possible on yourself. To this end, it’s much easier to upgrade equipment that you’re leasing than it is to pay upfront for an expensive piece of hardware. One way to ensure this is to include a hardware refresh in the terms of your lease. This way, upgrading your tech won’t cost you any additional fees and you won’t get slammed with a major bill at the worst possible time. As a budget-conscious business owner, you might feel skeptical about having to shell out monthly for IT equipment. The upside to this is that your IT technology turns into an operating expense, instead of a capital expense. This cost-saving measure frees up capital funds for your company’s budget.

Get Flexible Licensing with Cloud

When planning for your future choosing a flexible cloud service like Office365 can be a saving grace. Whether you’re growing or shrinking adding access points to easily onboard your staff is simple. With a pay-as-you-grow model of licensing you are paying for what you get, without any hidden limits to what you can handle.

When it comes to implementing technology for your business, it pays to do so with the future in mind. Vision Computer Solution can help your business by taking the time to listen to your company’s current and future IT needs, before recommending a solution. Keeping the future in mind will ensure that you will be able to take full advantage of how technology can benefit your business, instead of having it hold you back.