Do slow load times and a weak Wi-Fi connection feel like just a part of your everyday work? If so, you’re probably due for an office network upgrade, though in some cases, it might be time for your business to rebuild your office network from scratch.
But how do you know that’s the best way forward? And what’s your next move? Keep reading to find out.
Most of the time, customers wait until they have a major disaster and are looking down the barrel of tens to hundreds of hours to repair, and that's when they decide to just start over from scratch. But by that point, you're either spending a lot of hours to put it back the way it was or the same amount of hours to redesign it, so doing the math is rather easy.
Ideally, that hasn’t happened yet, and that is the essence of proactive IT, strengthening your systems before an outage or breach occurs. You know it’s time for a network upgrade if your situation sounds something like this:
When you started, you probably had a single server, maybe even a workstation that was utilized as a server. You have a basic switch that you got from Best Buy or Amazon, probably D-Link or Linksys, and you had a basic firewall put in place. As things progressed, you added to the network (maybe a bigger switch or an additional server) or maybe you integrated some kind of cloud services. But generally, your network wasn't intelligently designed, it was pieced together over the years.
Then, as your needs changed, your network changed. And, it probably works ... ish. Most of the time, it's fine, but when it fails, it requires digging through old configurations, services that weren't properly removed, crawling under desks, a mix of old and new cabling, and maybe even a random wireless router somewhere.
If this sounds familiar, don’t be ashamed, most business networks look a lot like this! And it can feel like a lot to take on, but with a well-thought-out IT strategy, you can get a handle on it and get back to working without workarounds.
Eventually, businesses tend to reach a point either in size or sophistication at which they decide it's time to rip it all out and start from scratch. A better approach is to segment your network into different pieces and then upgrade or redesign them individually. The infrastructure project is usually a good place to start because it’s the backbone of the network. IT infrastructure, in this instance, refers to the physical network hardware, such as switches, access points for wireless, firewalls, and cabling (if necessary).
After that, core services are the next logical place to proceed. Look at what you're using and have a systems architect draft a few proposals for redesigning it. If you're using a local email server, maybe it's time to look at cloud-based messaging. If you have all of your servers and services on-premises, it might be time to look at using a cloud-based hosting facility.
Once your core services and infrastructure are up to spec, it's time to look at ancillary services. You might consider moving your phones to a cloud-based VoIP provider to increase user mobility. It may be time to look at printers and copiers and see if there are better deals on newer units that require less maintenance and cost less. Finally, the last step is generally enhancing the user experience. Is your business still running Windows 7? Do you have workstations that are older than 3 or 4 years? Is there an intelligent design to your workstation refresh program? These are all end user considerations that will streamline and control your costs.
Many customers wait until all of their computers are 5 years old and then undertake a massive project to refresh them all. This represents both a significant up-front cost and a major user interruption. A more intelligent design is to select a standard rotation timeline (somewhere between 3-5 years is standard) and then divide your workstations by the rotation timeline. That will give you the number of workstations you should be refreshing each year. By staggering the rotation, you have a consistent hardware cost for end user hardware and dilute the disruption over many years instead of a few months.
Well-designed business networks require less upkeep, maintenance is easier, and configurations are standardized according to Microsoft or manufacturer best practices. Put simply, intelligent networks are easier to maintain and can be much easier to fix if something does go wrong.
An organization that continues to rely on antiquated network infrastructure faces several operational risks, including:
When and how you decide to execute network changes is ultimately up to you, but we highly recommend making the decision yourself, before a major failure makes the decision for you.
For those that need assistance with network maintenance and server administration services, our trusted IT professionals make sure things are done right the first time, so you don’t have to worry if your network is up-to-date and secure for the foreseeable future. Partnering with a reputable managed service provider, such as Ntiva, ensures that your network infrastructure is capable of supporting your organization and its growth. Take a closer look at our server administration and management services to see how Ntiva can help your business operate more efficiently and eliminate risks to your servers.
This blog was originally published in March 2017 and updated in November 2025