How old is too old? When to replace real estate technology.
Back in 1981, when my father purchased his first IBM XT desktop for $10,000, the expected lifespan of a computer was pretty long. After all, they were very expensive and buying a replacement in 2 or 3 years was just not practical.
Fast forward to 2006…
I am always surprised by the number of folks that are limping along on hardware and software that is 3, 5 and even 7 years old. I make it a general rule not to make these people my clients, as their reality pretty much screams their perception of technology:
Technology is an expense. An expense that must be minimized at all costs.
Each day, they spend a good deal of time (although they may not realize it as it slips by, a few minutes here, a few minutes there) rebooting or otherwise wrestling with their computer as it freezes, flickers or exhibits some other odd behavior. Yet, they go on, talking about the day they will upgrade their business technology.
Little do they realize, that with each reboot or each call to their resident computer guru, their profits are being whittled away.
Wrestling with technology will kill your profits. And the death will be slow and silent.
So what is the solution?
Replace and upgrade your systems. And do it every 3 years. Period.
Technology purchases are not like car purchases. Cars do not offer unique levels of value. Pretty much any car available today can get you from point A to B in about the same time. Granted, you might not be the envy of your clients and friends driving your Chevrolet Cavalier around town, but it does the job just fine.
Technology is different. On the surface, you might think that one computer network is like the rest, but it is not so…
The right technology (computer network, phone system, client database, etc.) can mean the difference between you making money and you making more money, more quickly. It can mean the difference between responding to your client’s urgent request in 1 hour or 24 hours. Most importantly, it can mean the difference between you focusing on your technology and you focusing on real estate.
Now which do you think is more profitable?
In this day and age, with hardware and software at such low price levels, you owe it to your business (and to yourself) to equip yourself with the best tools out there.
I strongly agree, every 3 years is a good general rule, and pc’s are so cheap now it’s feasable.
— Littleton Real Estate Mar 21, 06:16 PM #