Today the objective is to bring a timeline to some technical aspects of business IT infrastructures in a business framework.
Vintage vs. Antique
Let’s begin with definitions. Vintage is less concrete than antique, though it’s generally agreed that items that can be called vintage must feel like they are from a bygone era. Items that are between 20 and 99 years old fall into this category. Vintage items often evoke a feeling of nostalgia and may be collectible.
Vintage Servicing Model
When it comes to business, especially those with fewer than 150 employees, vintage translates into more expense. How is this so, you may well ask? Let’s compare a change in cars to a change in managing Windows computers for security, control, and users.
Here’s a quick timeline of how fuel injection replaced carburetors: (this was a major change for managing fuel delivery for engines)
1950s: Fuel injection introduced in select high-performance models
1970s: Adoption grows due to emissions regulations and fuel efficiency demands
1980s: Mainstream vehicles begin switching to fuel injection
1990s: Carburetors largely phased out in new cars
From these dates it is easy to see that it took ten years for the carburetor to become obselete for new automobiles. The end result is that today finding a mechanic who can work on carburetors is very hard if not impossible.
An IT Correlative
Now let’s look at something similar for IT: (Windows Active Directory is and will always be a centralized system for managing users, computers, and resources in a Windows environment.)
Here’s a quick timeline of how Windows Active Directory has moved from on-premise servers to a cloud based service:
- 2000 Windows Active Directory on an on-premise server was officially introduced
- 2013 Windows Active Directory as a cloud-based service available
What does this mean to our business? Those service providers who, themselves, have an outstanding return-on-investment requirement are very hesitant to promote a cloud based solution especially as there are no regulations requiring it. The end result for the customer is that this vintage approach, with its higher cost burden, is the first proposal.
Putting Your Business First
A service provider, like Lead IT Consulting, who is interested in your business efficiency, will propose both options with the risks, so that your business, not sunk service costs, is the focus of the decision.
If you are unsure whether your infrastructure is vintage to support your current service provider or your business, just reach out to Lead IT Consulting. We help our clients mitigate IT challenges daily to minimize risks. To find out more about how Lead IT Consulting can help your company with this and more book a meeting with the author or send an email to happiness@leaditconsulting.net.
