The arrival of the New Year offers us a new beginning and it’s time to think about how to refine our daily lives. The constant development of technology has surely brought new trends that you can apply to your business. So should you stick to the same old but proventechnology that you have been using for so long or is it time to switch to a new and exciting one? To find this out, Syntax IT Support suggest that you ask yourself the following questions.

• Are your business systems still supported?

First of all, before deciding to move on to using a new technology, you need to ask yourself if the systems you are currently using are still well-supported. In other words, is the development team still releasing constant updates for your applications? For example, Microsoft has now stopped releasing regular security updates for Windows XP since there are not that many people still using it. If your business ends up being in the same situation, this could put at risk not only your company data but also your customers’ personal information.

• Is your technology becoming obsolete?

Before taking any further steps, ask your employees about their experience using your current hardware and software. Havethey identified any gaps for improvement or do they feel handicapped in terms of completing certain tasks? If the answer is yes, then you should probably really consider switching up to a new technology. After all, you do not want to be leaving behind your competitors. In addition, if large players are already using new IT solutions, you should not think too much before supplying this to your business so you can keep up and remain competitive in the industry.

• Can new technology make your business more efficient?

You should think about the business value that adopting a new system may bring to your company. Ask yourself what exactly you need IT for so you can be sure to make the right decision in terms of employing new technology. For instance, mobile commerce is growing at a rapid rate and tailoring their offerings to mobile platforms is becoming increasingly important for companies. So, chances are that you would benefit from switching up to a system that supports mobile payments. In addition, you need to make sure that the new business technology you are planning to adopt is well-supported by constant upgrades. This will ensure that your system will not get obsolete soon and will allow you to stay relevant in the market place.  

• Have you considered moving to the cloud?

Finally, if after all, you still wish to stick to the same technology but want to remain competitive, there is another alternative for you. Recently, using cloud technologies has become a very common trend adopted by many businesses, large and small. Using the cloud to execute some of your operations could be a way of avoiding the cost and efforts of upgrading your current systems. By using this service, you would not have to purchase whole new software as you can just use readily available software that the cloud would provide to you. Many businesses have increasingly been choosing this business model as the cost seems to be very low.

In addition, by using the cloud, you can manage your business processes from any device from anywhere in the world. However, you do need to pay attention to the additional upgrades you may need such as servers and networks, in order to make sure you get the best benefits by choosing this model.