Long for years, consumer society's solutions to encourage purchase and consumption have been observed in IT as well, similarly to other areas. This can be traced in commercial advertisements promoting the introduction of constantly modernizing IT tools.
This consumer incentive and the constantly suggested hardware and software obsolescence constantly forces users to replace their devices and software every 2-3 years. It's a small business, but it's a significant expense for larger ones, not to mention a home user.
But is this necessary?
Apparently yes, since we often encounter problems when we receive a document and cannot open it because it was created with the latest software. In such cases, everyone rushes frantically to get this latest software so that they don't have problems. This often means that the new software does not run on the existing hardware, so we can also replace it.
All this because the person who sent us the unreadable software did not consider the recipient and did not set the format of the document according to compatibility. This would typically be the task of companies' IT staff, which they often forget to configure and these programs are installed with the manufacturer's default settings. Of course, the manufacturer applies these settings to encourage the purchase, although it always claims that this is necessary so that the user can take advantage of all the features of the program.
Everyone put their hands on their hearts and say how many more services they use today's software compared to an older text editor. According to our experience, we do not or hardly use newer services in these software.
Besides this, look at the costs, what they cost, e.g. office software packages. In the case of web editors, the solution is not sufficiently secure in terms of data protection either, it is no coincidence that other solutions are used by large foreign companies sensitive to their data. In addition, information about many problems regarding the protection of data stored in the cloud has recently come to light.
Then is it worth switching?
It is unlikely, but there is another possibility. It sounds like a well-worn cliché, but there are also free-to-use software, solutions that can be used not only at home, but also in a business environment. In addition, these are no less than paid software. These programs are called open source software and can be run on virtually any operating system such as Windows. Mac OS and Linux versions.
The difference is basically in the handling from the user's point of view, because for patent reasons it is not possible to use the same menu system in these programs as in their paid counterparts. Moreover, certain document formats cannot be used freely, but thanks to standardization, all office software manufacturers are now forced to use open standard formats in their software.
I am not familiar with this software...
It is worth getting to know it, since an office program package can save a company hundreds of thousands of forints. This can be a sufficient incentive to encourage and select employees. There is a saying that a person is worth as many languages as he speaks.
This is particularly true for the application and use of software in IT. In addition, getting to know a new software version requires at least as much learning as learning another similar version.
Of course, the importance of open source software goes far beyond office software. After all, a business today uses several IT services, either as its own solution or as a purchased service, the costs of which could be significantly reduced with such programs.
Many businesses operate servers and network applications suitable for serving the work of several employees at the same time. Considerable savings can be achieved in this area as well, since the true raison d'être of open source software appears here. After all, this is one of the biggest deals in IT.
I think many people have already heard about it, but they probably never thought of trying out the server solutions and software that have been the leading IT solutions for many years. It may come as a shock to many that these are all free solutions.
Unfortunately, many people, even in the entrepreneurial environment, consider it important to use software they consider to be well known, based on old instincts. In other words, they can solve all problems related to operation in-house. According to our experience, this is often a mistake.
Let's think about how much time an employee whose primary task is not to operate the IT system occasionally spends on these tasks, while taking it away from other important, income-generating activities. In many cases, it is still necessary to use an external specialist, since the professional experience and practice are not available for the full operation of a system.
Then what can be done?
In our opinion, effective cost-saving solutions should first be sought, and the resulting savings are typically sufficient for the operation of a professionally designed and adjusted IT system by a competent specialist.
In many cases, it is not even necessary for the specialist to appear on site, all that is required is the conditions for remote monitoring and management. For this purpose, an encrypted virtual private network (VPN) can be established, with which the IT system can be safely monitored and thus continuously maintained remotely, in most cases. Of course, as a result, the costs of the service may be lower, since the costs of on-site drop-off are not incurred.
DiaKont's own IT system is operated in this way, all IT devices and applications of the office and the site can be continuously monitored from our site. This service and related solutions are available to all our customers.