5 Signs It’s Time to Upgrade Your Network

Rapid technology advances create myriad opportunities for businesses to gain competitive advantages — provided they have a network capable of handling the new workloads. Recent surveys find that aging network architectures are creating significant limitations for most companies.

Nearly three-quarters (70 percent) of business leaders across 21 countries and 16 industry sectors agree that network limitations negatively affect their operations, according to a recent survey by Jigsaw Research. In another recent survey from Asperitas, only 5 percent of companies say they have a fully modernized network.

Many organizations still have decades-old network architectures that weren’t built for today’s cloud, edge, mobile and remote connectivity requirements. Even with periodic component upgrades, these aging, hardware-centric designs are ill-suited for the real-time data demands of today’s dynamic digital ecosystems.

Fixed hardware configurations are inflexible and unable to adapt quickly to changing business needs or emerging technologies, leading to potential performance bottlenecks and inefficiencies. It is also incredibly difficult to scale hardware-based environments to accommodate fluctuating traffic demands. Further, it is nearly impossible to efficiently provision and configure hundreds or thousands of endpoint devices for remote workers using traditional manual processes.

In addition to speed, scalability and productivity challenges, outdated networks can result in missed opportunities, lost business, increased maintenance, and security and compliance issues. To avoid such negative consequences, it is important to recognize some of the signs that a network upgrade has become necessary:

Sluggish Performance

Slow file transfers, buffering videos and stalled applications indicate that increased traffic demands are straining the network. Adding bandwidth might resolve some issues, but it often just masks underlying issues such as improperly configured routers, switches or applications. A network upgrade can help ensure the smooth flow of data and improve application response through increased automation, intelligent routing and packet optimization.

Frequent Downtime

Aging network equipment is more prone to failures that can lead to lost productivity and revenue. More than 90 percent of global businesses experience at least one network outage per quarter, at an average cost of more than $4,000 per minute. Network upgrades help eliminate downtime in a variety of ways. Centralized management makes it easier to identify and resolve issues before they result in an outage. Redundant systems and automated failover mechanisms also help ensure a highly available network.

Persistent Maintenance Issues

Routine maintenance is expected for any network, but excessive and continuous troubleshooting indicates larger problems. Unusually high CPU and memory utilization, intermittent connectivity problems, high packet loss, device overheating, buffer overflows and growing numbers of configuration errors are all signs of outdated network gear.

Poor Scalability

Business conditions and technology requirements can change quickly, but adding new network gear to accommodate those changes isn’t always smooth. Depending on supply chain issues, it can take a couple of days to a few months to provision, configure and deploy a new application server. Network upgrades built featuring virtualization and software-defined networking (SDN) enable dynamic allocation and management of network resources, which makes it easier to scale up or down based on demand.

End of Support

When manufacturers stop supporting and servicing older network equipment, that is a clear sign that an upgrade is necessary. Using unsupported gear becomes risky, and finding replacement parts can be nearly impossible. Additionally, outdated systems will almost certainly have unpatched vulnerabilities that create openings for hackers. This may cause noncompliance with government and industry regulations.

Increasingly sophisticated technology supports many central business operations, but it also puts a strain on aging network infrastructure. SageNet can help you develop and implement a network upgrade strategy that will eliminate performance issues and meet your current and future operational goals. Contact us to learn more.