Can Slow Computers Cost My Business Money?

Has an employee ever talked to you about how long it takes to open documents on their computer, or that it seems to take a long time to load their programs? Do you notice employees starting their computers in the morning, get a cup of coffee and then talk to others about the big game last night before getting down to work? If the computers in your office are over five years old, then the computers are way overdue for replacement. Slow computers will cost your business money, it’s a fact! A 2016 survey found that U.S. businesses lose up to $1.8 billion each year in wasted productivity due to obsolete technology. As devices age, they run more slowly, freeze more often, and require more maintenance, resulting in additional downtime and less employee productivity.

There’s nothing new about slow computers!

Slow computers and slow technology have always been problems for a business. A recent survey showed that 89 percent of employees are having their work slowed down by everyday problems with technology in the office.

The problem is so bad that in some companies, almost one-quarter of the employee’s waste between three and six hours each week because of issues with technology. That includes slow computers.

Some might question why computers slow down, do they really slow down, or like other technology is there so much more information being processed that the technology can’t keep up. Either way new technology provides for faster devices and processing which keeps up with growing usage demand.

What is it costing my business if I keep using slow computers?

Quantifying the commercial impact is a simple exercise, for this example we will use $30,000 as a base salary. You can plug in your own numbers:

·       Assume user experiences slow down for 5 minutes each hour, and they work 7.5 hours per day.

·       This translates to a loss of productivity for almost 40 minutes each day, or around 3 hours per week.

·       In a year, that is approximately 145 hours per year of lost productivity. (220 days x 40 minutes).

·       With a salary of $30,000 per year ($12 per hour), that is an estimated opportunity cost of $1,740 per user.

·       Multiply that number by total number of employees and you’ll have the annual dollars wasted for keeping slow computers.

As we talked about earlier, there are many reasons why computers slowdown, from slow PC boot-up in the morning, slow processing time due to large file sizes, sophisticated operation from specialized programs, or downtime due to IT support. As the saying goes, good money after bad.

What other ways do slow computers eat into your profits?

·       As stated earlier in this article, slow computers eat into the processes of efficient employees. The longer it takes to get work done, means you may need to hire more employees to complete all necessary task of the day or potentially pay overtime.

·       The computer you got five years ago operated perfectly, handling multiple applications running at the same time. There were no issues with printing, saving or retrieving documents. Now, the computer freezes and it needs to be rebooted, or the lag time means there are calls to your help desk or IT for support. The cost keeps compounding.

·       There are more security vulnerabilities with older computers. This means your companies data; customer files and confidential information is at risk. New computers have more security features built in allowing you the freedom to worry less about your company’s valuable information getting into the wrong hands.

·       Did you know that frustrations with constant IT issues and computer inefficiencies are reasons for employees to quit. What’s the cost to retrain new employees, or worse, what happens if you lose customers because employees can’t complete their task on time?

On average, what is the cost for my business to replace a computer every five years?

If a company purchases a computer for $1,200.00, divide that by five years for the duration that we’ll keep it then the cost is $240.00 annually. If a company wants to drill the numbers down to the month, take $240.00 divided by twelve months and now you have a cost of $20.00 per month or approximately a dollar per day. If you think about it, it’s one of the most cost-effective technologies in your business to be updated, but may provide the most revenue for your business.

How do I plan for computer updates?

Depending on how many computers are in your business, this is the time to figure out a replacement strategy. Talk with employees about how their computers are working and try to find the computers needing to be replaced the soonest. Then budget a portion of your business’s computers for replacement on an annual basis. The ultimate goal would be to have a 3-5 year rotating replacement plan, depending on usage and demand from specialized software programs.

If you would like more information or discuss how Catalyst IT can help with an

IT Management plan contact us at 877-843-9611 or submit a request on the Contact Us link.