Upgrading Your Company Software: IT Support Best Practices
Keeping your tech systems updated is essential as it's the key to optimum speed and improved performance and functionality. It also helps lower security vulnerabilities, given that hackers take advantage of non-patched flaws.
Consider that 57% of victims of data breaches confessed that such incidents could have well been prevented by installing an available patch, according to a study by the Ponemon Institute. This underpins the need for updating software promptly.
Moreover, software updates come with new features that can make your work easier and better. And lastly, they ensure compatibility with the latest technology. For instance, the latest operating systems may necessitate updates of some of your software, or else they cease to work.
For successful company software upgrades, it helps to follow tried and tested standards. Read on below for the details:
Strategize
The first best practice is figuring out what needs to be upgraded. A well-thought-out strategy helps you avoid unnecessary updates.
Use the five questions of Who, What, When, Where, and How to guide your thought process:
- Who will be tasked with the software upgrade project? Will your in-house IT staff do it or will you outsource it to a managed IT services firm?
- What software particularly needs to be upgraded? What processes will you employ in upgrading the systems? What are the cost estimates for the project?
- Why exactly do you need to upgrade these systems? How will the updates benefit the company?
- When will you do the upgrade?
- How will you go about the upgrade? How will your staff and clients adapt to the rolled-out changes?
With a proper strategy in place, you can start the ball rolling.
Ensure Your IT Support Team Has Specialized Expertise
You may need some technical support during your software upgrade if you're short on time or the task at hand is a bit too complicated for you.
Choose specialized IT support teams for the best results. See, a general tech partner can miss key requirements for a specific industry. To add, sectors like finance and health have intricate requirements that may not be so obvious for non-experts.
For example, payments in the retail sector must be accompanied with electronic signature capture. In the health industry, you must adhere to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulations, which typically govern the privacy and security of patient data. And for the automotive industry, you must adhere to safety standards stipulating specific performance criteria for vehicle components like airbags and seatbelts.
Working with tech partners with specialized knowledge base ensures such requirements aren't overlooked. But besides that, you'd also want them to have excellent communication skills, dedicated help desk teams, 24-hour support services, multiple communication channels, qualified support staff, and exemplary incident management skills. These traits guarantee a wonderful customer experience.
Prioritize Security
The rapid growth of the IT sector has caught the eye of cybercriminals and they work round the clock to fleece companies. Cybercrime costs U.S. companies more than USD$500 million annually. Thus, you must be careful with your upgrade system if handling them online. Businesses experience attacks like viruses, worms, and ransomware, which can cripple your operations.
Put in place measures to ensure your security upgrades are secure. Use two-factor authentication to prevent infiltration by attackers. Also, make sure you identify security issues after upgrading the old systems. Cybercriminals capitalize on such vulnerabilities. So, prompt security patches will help fix bugs in code that could lead to cybersecurity incidents.
Migrate in Phases
Another best practice is upgrading in phases. First, copy the data into the new system and run it parallel to the old system. Then, measure and test performance metrics such as speed, efficiency, power usage, customer satisfaction, complexity, cost, and security for both systems. If the new system performs better than the old one in light of these key performance indicators, you can then make the critical decision to fully migrate. Remember to make a read-only copy of the old system and then shut it down.
Note that progressive rollouts minimize risks as you get time to monitor the upgrades and catch potential issues ahead of time.
In the same way, deploy upgrades one system at a time. You don't have to update all software in one go. This way, you can avoid making big mistakes.
Test Rigorously Before Deployment
Any new system requires thorough testing to ensure it's up to the task in light of the pre-defined objectives. It can also show you how vulnerable your new system is to incidents like viruses, power outages, and physical attacks.
During the testing, you'd also want to evaluate whether the costs are justified and whether you need more upgrades.
It's also obligatory to onboard your employees with the new system. Let the different departments test it to familiarize themselves with it before rolling it out fully.
Testing helps gauge user satisfaction, too. So, support agents should also answer any questions or concerns your team members may have with the new system.
With software updates, you can't eliminate the possibility of technical issues like IT downtimes. For the three years leading to 2022, about 82% of companies experienced at least one unplanned downtime incident. Downtimes are costly, making companies lose thousands of dollars. Rigorous testing may help reduce the likelihood of such incidents.
Conclusion
Software upgrades are essential for the continuous improvement of your company's operations. Technology is advancing dynamically, so the way you handle some tasks now may not be feasible a few months or a year down the line. With the tips above, you can carry out the upgrades safely and efficiently. Don't hesitate to outsource technical support if you don't have the time or skills to do it.