In the SysAdmin Reddit group, I recently read a horror story. A car dealership used a 14-year-old desktop computer for its only business server. In it, the company ran two customer relationship management (CRM) programs and its inventory management systems. They also didn't have, hang in there, an autosave system.
The consultant told them that “they should automate backups on a separate system, or at least use RAID1. Anything!"
Your answer ? "No, too expensive, we can't afford a new desktop, and we can't afford new drives."
A year later, almost to the day, the call came. The disk had failed. His €20 million business had lost the data for the last six months, the customer database, customer forms, bank documents, everything. "The only reason they have anything is because I convinced the owner to at least let me in and do a manual backup six months ago."
I wish this example was unique. It certainly is horrible. In fact, it might even be a commercial killer (no verdict on that yet), but there's nothing special about it.
Sometimes I do high-level consulting assignments. I won't repair your equipment or sell you servers or services, but I will tell you what you need to do to get the most out of your IT approach and how to avoid disaster. I have seen dozens of similar situations where owners and managers insist on installing equipment on the ground.
It is always a mistake.
Yes, stories about companies still using Amiga computers from the 80s are amusing, and if George RR Martin is still happy to write with WordStar on an MS-DOS PC, more power to him. But, from a business continuity perspective, that's beyond stupid.
Think about it. If your decade-old PC breaks, and it eventually will, good luck fixing it. Parts may no longer be available, and your neighborhood computer technician may not even know how to fix it.
Similarly, once a program or operating system is no longer supported, continuing to use it is simply asking for it to be hacked. I used to love Windows 7 too, but there's no way I'm still running it in production today.
The moral of this story is simple: while you don't have to keep up with the latest technology, you can't rely on outdated equipment. It doesn't end well. Never.
My rule of thumb is to replace desktops every five years and increasingly abused laptops every three years. Could they last longer? Sure. I have computers that are well into their second decade and still do useful work. But do I use them for my business applications? No!
As for servers, I keep an eye on disk stats from the cloud storage and backup service Backblaze. It continuously monitors your drives and provides the best information available about storage lifespan. (For servers, it's all about the disks.) In their latest study, Backblaze found that drive life expectancy "decreases at a fairly constant rate of 2-2,5% per year for the first four years, then the decline begins to accelerate." After six years, we end up with a 65% life expectancy. That's why the industry standard of replacing servers every five years makes sense.
In the meantime, you should use a 3–2–1 automated backup strategy. Have three total copies of your data, two of which are local but on different devices, and one off-site copy. You can add more if you wish. For example, if you need to preserve old data that you don't expect to need very often, you can use services like AWS Glacier to keep it in a secure data freezer.
Now I have to tell you about the business problem behind these technological mistakes: poor money management.
Too many people think that they can buy computers cheaply. It can not. Just because your old computer hasn't blown up yet doesn't mean it won't later today or tomorrow. If some of your hardware is past its expiration date by, say, a maximum of five years, you're living on borrowed time. Spend the money and upgrade your equipment.
That goes double for your backup and restore systems. I can't believe how many people don't automate their backup systems. Set it up once, buy the backup disks, subscribe to the cloud backup service, pay the bill, and you'll never have to worry about your business data disappearing.
Simple, right? So why do people keep acting like fools? One of the main reasons is one of the most dangerous business models: the "General Fund Year-End Bonus" model. I usually see medical or legal firms doing this, but I've seen it done elsewhere.
With this scheme, when everything is a capital expense, members see what is left in the general fund as their bonus. As one person on Reddit put it, they consider necessary IT maintenance expenses "straight out of pocket."
Hey Given the choice between short-term money in my pocket and long-term maintenance of my business, what do you think most people will choose? It's true: they maximize their bonus and ignore the annoying computer guys.
Do not do that. Listen to your technicians and protect your IT investment. In 2022, no matter what you do for a living, your business depends on your technology foundation.
You do not believe me ? Ask yourself what you would do if, like that car dealer, you came in on Monday to find all your records for the past six months vanished into a haze. You would be in real trouble.
Do the right thing. Keep your gear and savings up to date. You'll be glad you did.
So read this:
Copyright © 2022 IDG Communications, Inc.