3 Big Ways You’re Losing Business with Old Tech

You may think your business is keeping pace with all the latest advancements in technology—maybe you have finally bid farewell to the cash-only days, or maybe you maintain a respectable website for your company. But even with these basic improvements, your tech use could still be straggling behind other companies’ in subtle ways.

Here is a list of big losses to beware of if you fail to adopt new technology:

1. Otherwise loyal customers will walk away.

According to a Microsoft survey, 91 percent of consumers would consider breaking ties with a company using outdated technology. Participants offered a number of explanations for their insistence on modern tech: most people were concerned with protecting their information, but many also cited ease of use as an underlying motivation.

The good news is that the same survey found 62 percent of consumers would return to a business using more current technology. So, while you might be driving away a significant user base with your obsolete tech, you do also stand a chance to recoup those losses once you manage to modernize.

2. Your security will be compromised.

Did you know that nearly 70 percent of employees believe their company’s security measures are behind the times? That number alone is alarming, but considering a quarter million new malware threats are discovered every day, then every second your company’s security software and tech is outdated, the potential for cyber-attacks increases exponentially.

Using outdated hardware or software opens you up to security breaches because attackers can more easily exploit any vulnerabilities in that technology—and once they cause trouble, you may have a hard time accessing support for your antiquated tech, years after purchasing it.

If your customers fall victim to a security breach due to your failure to adopt new technology, you could be held responsible. For example, businesses that don’t use chip-enabled card readers now assume liability for in-store credit card fraud. Facing the consequences of such a data breach can be costly for a business of any size.

3. Productivity will suffer.

One study found that employees waste a average of more than one full day a week on recurring tasks that could be automated with the help of technology. That single day translates to more than $13,000 per year, per employee. The study also noted that a third of employees consider their company’s technology outdated, and many expressed an interest in automating those repetitive tasks.

Lagging internet speeds or slow software could add more wasted time to that estimate. If employees find they must consistently center their attention on solving technical issues, they will struggle to regain that focus.Take cues from your employees and ask for their input on the monotonous routines they have to constantly perform; you may not be able to resolve every complaint, but you can prioritize the most common suggestions.

Of course, these losses that come with using outdated technology can be flipped on their head to reveal a more promising outlook: if you adopt new tech for your business, you will acquire more loyal customers, you will better secure your data (and your clients’ data), and you will see measurable gains in productivity.