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When to Replace a Business Server: 5 Signs It’s Time
Business servers are vital to a company’s operations, so it is important to know when to replace one before failure results in a significant loss, but with various industry recommendations found online, how do you know when it’s time to invest in a new or refurbished server? Consider these 5 signs:
1. Customer Feedback / Diminishing Performance of a Server
If you are experiencing diminishing performance, your server is slow and no longer keeping up with the workload, it may be time to replace it. Maybe you haven’t noticed any issues, but according to your sales team, customer feedback indicates a problem.
Upgrading the CPU, replacing hard drives and adding more memory can help improve performance, but these and other upgrades may not provide the boost your server needs. In many cases, it is more cost-effective to replace the server, especially an aging one.
2. Aging Server Nearing the End of Its Lifecycle
As a server ages and reaches the end of its lifecycle, diminished performance, increased operation and maintenance costs, and a higher fail rate can be expected. While a defective new server could fail within hours of initial operation and a well-maintained one kept in an optimal environment can last 10+ years, opinions on when to replace a server due to normal aging vary.
Some IT professionals recommend replacing small business servers every 4-6 years. The traditional industry standard for server replacement has been 3-5 years, depending on usage.
However, the average server lifecycle is becoming shorter as more businesses realize the advantages of regularly upgrading. According to the IDC report, “Accelerate Business Agility with Faster Server Refresh Cycles,” companies should refresh servers every 3 years to avoid a 10x increase in operating costs.
3. Increased Maintenance & Operation Costs
As servers age, the costs of operation go up. When that happens, it can be more cost-effective to replace the hardware.
Legacy servers use more energy as they overheat trying to keep up with heavy workloads. Cooling the server room becomes more expensive. Newer servers are also usually made more energy efficient.
Aging servers require more maintenance and repairs, too. That means an increase in IT staff time, lost productivity, increased support calls, and costly unplanned downtimes. Plus, replacement parts for old servers can be difficult to find, if you can find them, and are often more expensive.
Even if your servers are only a few years old if repairs are becoming more frequent and the costs associated with maintenance and operation are exceeding the cost of replacement, consider replacing them now.
4. Server Warranty Expiring
One of the top reasons for server replacement is an expiring warranty. If your warranty is expiring soon, you will need to decide whether to extend the warranty, if possible, or replace the hardware.
When a server warranty expires, it puts your business at significant risk. The manufacturer or vendor is no longer responsible for providing parts and making the repairs in a timely manner. That means you could be forced to buy used parts of unknown quality, if available, at a higher cost while also experiencing a much longer downtime before your server is back up and running.
In most cases, you will no longer receive important updates after your warranty expires, which increases the risk of security threats. You can also run into compatibility issues with an expired server warranty.
5. Security & Compatibility
When buying a new or refurbished server, it will come with the latest compatible firmware updates and patches. This provides protection against malware and cybersecurity exploits, keeping you in compliance with enterprise specifications and government regulatory requirements.
When running an old server with an expired warranty, you may discover these updates are no longer available because the manufacturer stopped producing them. If they are still available, finding and applying them can become difficult due to compatibility issues.
In addition, you could run into compatibility problems with software applications, operating systems and hardware devices. Your server may not be able to run the new software or communicate with a new device. Even if it can, old servers often are unable to handle newer, more resource-intensive applications.
If your server’s warranty is expiring, or you’re seeing one of the other five signs that is time to replace your business server, come to ServerMonkey for a quality, cost-effective solution.
Refurbished Servers Offer a More Affordable Solution to Upgrading
We know replacing servers can be expensive, especially when buying a new server. While ServerMonkey sells new hardware, we also stock and deliver high-quality refurbished servers, including powerful HP and Dell servers configured to order.
With ServerMonkey’s five-step quality program, you can feel confident that our hardware and networking equipment meets the highest industry standards.
Each server sold is updated with the latest firmware and fully tested for performance and compatibility. Our refurbished servers are also backed by a one-year standard warranty, with extended service warranties, including ones with 24x7 support and four-hour resolution, available.
If it’s time to replace your business server, check out the ones available at ServerMonkey now. If you have questions or want assistance making a purchase, contact us.
