While recent headlines have focused on the 2022 holiday airline meltdown that left millions of passengers stranded in airports across the country–the financial costs of which are still being calculated as ongoing investigations continue–the costly lesson is an important reminder to small businesses. What happened in airports wasn’t a one-off system failure – it was technical debt that compounded over time. Organizations ignored or tabled the problems associated with outdated systems and suffered the consequences and impact on their reputations.

Preventative Maintenance and Managed IT Solutions

From a small business perspective, the potential breach of clients' patient records or credit card information being stolen because routine IT maintenance was ignored or deferred, creates a cascade of problems small businesses simply can't afford to risk in the short term or long term.

For some industries, a data breach caused by a failure to update technology or to put in required safeguards for customers may mean facing regulatory and licensing issues particularly relevant for auto dealers.

Small business owners in 2023 should focus on qualified IT support to avoid – cybersecurity threats, data breaches and solid planning – and these priorities have not changed.

The operational system failures are not unique to the airline industry. Within days of the December days-long collapse at Southwest Airlines, the Federal Aviation Administration issued a ground stop after its pilot advisory system failed — a system that is 30 years old and six years from being updated, according to officials.

The bottom line is this – every technology system and computer network is capable of a meltdown if routine maintenance, security, and recovery plans are not in place. Data recovery can be even more costly and timely creating compounding problems that are best avoided from the start.

Technical Debt: What is it and How to avoid it

The concept of Technical Debt is crucial as the consumer expects businesses to continue to be on their game when it comes to digital transformation. When widespread technical failure occurs as the result of technical debt — the cost associated with not doing the necessary updates and preventive IT maintenance and routine planning – it can be like an unpaid credit card. The interest grows and compounds, making paying it off a real pain point. Some examples of Technical Debt include: rushing and publishing untested software, poor coding, ill-equipped and non communicative IT support people, insufficient software testing and improper or no documentation.

The key is to identify and better manage IT resources and technology.

While Technical Debt is an emerging concept in the IT world – and one many larger, enterprise businesses have been tracking and discussing – addressing how small businesses need to think about “paying down” the risks associated with not modernizing or updating is where NerdsToGo IT solutions and IT support can help.

For small businesses, it’s important to have a plan to upgrade, replace or retire software and devices. Yet many small businesses can’t afford to wholly replace their technology in one fell swoop and add to their staff with a full-time IT specialist. That’s when an outsourced managed service provider (MSP) can play an essential role. Outsourcing IT support can be the answer for small businesses looking how to navigate the ever-evolving tech landscape. NerdsToGo can develop a plan and prioritize the actions and technical investments.

Our IT solutions are scaled for the needs of what small businesses need to stay up-to-date and ensure small businesses IT support systems are running peak performance to create value for the business.