Stop Losing Productivity To Old Computers

Stop Losing Productivity To Old Computers

A lot of times we would rather stick with our older technology because of convenience, without realizing the time we are investing into our day to day tasks. There comes a point where your investing too much time using and maintaining older technology and computing. 

You start the day... Most of us turn the computer and wait for it to get to your desktop. Desktop loads, you then open up your mail browser, check emails, respond to some, or not. This early morning task might not seem like much, but i'm sure as most business owners know with older computers it takes more time then you want it to to complete tasks such as emailing, web browsing, viewing PDF... The list goes on. This is costing you money! 

You may already know that the older technology is costing you money but most people don't really know how much money it costs them. Here is the breakdown your hourly rate for you personally lets say $150/hour and a 10 second operation ( based on operation efficiency of DELL XPS 8500 ) takes you 40 seconds. Now you might not think that that's a big difference but do it a few hundred times a day all all of a sudden... Here check it out: 

10 Second operation cost you 42 cents ( this is standard for user proficiency and machine proficiency)

40 second operation costs you $1.68    (This is the estimated time for a outdated system to pre 

$1.26 - Money lost

spending 20 minutes a day preforming this operation would yield a daily loss of about $50 

5 day workweek Loss from this single operation alone:

$250 - Loss Per Week

Just in case my layout is a bit confusing what the numbers illustrate is that in a single week of this silent financial sinkhole costs you $250 over the course of a year you wind up losing $13,000 on wasted time. All this extra spending could be prevented by keeping your business, software, and machines up to date. In this example a $800 investment would save or open up a revenue source of $12,200.

You may not notice the impact of this financial burden because  the money never actually comes out of your pocket. Its hard to see what your not receiving for your time as apposed to how much your spending. That's what most business owners look at " I don't have enough money to invest $600 in a new computer" not realizing they lose way above and beyond by not making the investment. 

I've seen this not to long ago with a struggling printing shop. They had a healthy workflow, solid clientele, great communication. So why were they struggling? They were struggling because there artwork department was running on old machines. When i told them this they didn't really see what i was talking about " yeah the computers a little slow but we get all our work done on time" I had to explain that its not about getting what you have done, its about doing more with your time. After 2 months they updated there artwork department with new machines. They then found that they were over staffed in there art department and after downsizing there department they still had a little room for more work. 

I hope this helped you understanding one of the silent threats outdated technology has on a business's financial standing, and overall productivity. Next week we will be discussing evolving with the times and how to prevent being left behind.