Keeping your software up to date is vital for a well-functioning company. Using outdated software can slow down productivity which is a huge issue, especially when your competitors are using newer systems that offer better services to customers. Cyber-Security is also affected by out of date software because cyber criminals will know their way around it like the back of their hand. Whereas the newer software will have plugged those holes and it’ll be harder for potential attackers to break in. Upgrading software can cause a lot of problems if the transition is not smooth enough because employees will struggle with using the new systems and everything will come to a grinding halt. If your systems are in need of an upgrade, make sure you follow these steps to make it as painless as possible.
Switch Gradually
If you implement new software and immediately take away the old systems, employees will not have the chance to get to grips with the new way of doing things before they have to rely on it completely. You need a grace period where they can use both pieces of software so if they don’t know how to do something on the new system, they can use the old one as a backup. Using a Virtual Private Server is the perfect way to do this. It allows you to create a second, virtual computer within each employee’s machine so they can switch between the old and the new operating systems when needed.
Move Major Tasks Over First
While it’s important that employees can straddle both operating systems for a period, you need to encourage them to start using the new ones where possible. Start moving tasks over one by one, starting with the ones that they use most often. That way employees can focus on learning the system by doing one or two key tasks to start with, and slowly build up their proficiency as you move more functions over.
Train Ahead Of Time
Good training is obviously key to making sure that employees know how to use updated operating systems, but a common mistake that businesses make is starting too late. Upgrading everything and then trying to teach people how to use it is completely backward. Get a couple of computers upgraded and start regular training sessions before you start rolling the new operating systems out across all of the computers in the office.
Use Your Best Employees
Some of your employees will naturally pick up the new operating system quicker than others, so take advantage of that. Get them to help others in areas that they’re struggling with. Setting up an instant chat feature for your employees is an easy way for them to ask each other quick questions and pool their skill sets so everybody pulls together to learn to deal with the upgrades a lot faster.
Improved Upgrading
Implementing software upgrades across the system is a monumental task and it probably is going to make things run a little slower for a while but don’t let that put you off. Companies that neglect their IT department for too long are only going to harm themselves.
I hope you enjoyed this article about how to take the pain out of software upgrades in the office.
Interested in more articles about information technology?
Read My Posts:
- 3 Reasons Why Business Data Security Is Key
- How Artificial Intelligence Will Reduce Hacking
Published by Michael J Schiemer
Owner of Bootstrap Business
Money - Marketing - Motivation
Digital Marketing | SEO | Social Media
Mike Schiemer Builds Better Business
I hope you enjoyed this article about how to take the pain out of software upgrades in the office.
Interested in more articles about information technology?
Read My Posts:
- 3 Reasons Why Business Data Security Is Key
- How Artificial Intelligence Will Reduce Hacking
Published by Michael J Schiemer
Owner of Bootstrap Business
Money - Marketing - Motivation
Digital Marketing | SEO | Social Media
Mike Schiemer Builds Better Business
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