There are many advantages and disadvantages of updating current software or installing new software, most of them have an impact on the users of the existing system and/or how well the system runs.
Advantages of Updating/Installing Software
The advantages of updating the current software or installing new software into the system include:
· The updated software may fix bugs in the current system for example when iMessage on iOS devices had an update which removed a bug which meant that some of the messages you sent would never arrive at the intended target
· Obtaining a newer version of the software which makes the company look good
· The updated software may make the current computer system more efficient and productive
· The newer software could fix security problems such as Apple’s iCloud’s password security problem which has now been fixed in the latest version
· The update could fix errors that the a previous user of the software has caused
· The update can repair damage done to the software by a virus
· New features may automate existing tasks such as autocorrect or autocomplete in Internet Explorer 5 by Microsoft
· Improved data sharing and communication within the organisation
Disadvantages/Risks of Updating/Installing Software
The disadvantages/Risks of updating the current software or installing new software into the system include:
· The new software may confuse the users of the old system which could be seen after Windows 8 was released to the public, it severely confused users of the old system which could not do any of the simple shortcuts and tips they knew from the previous version
· There may be bugs in the newer software, for example when the new iOS 7 was released which allowed users to bypass the passcode lock on the iPhone allow full access to the phone and gallery sections of the mobile
· The newer software might remove some of the old features of the previous version
· There might be a loss of service for users (both employees and customers), this can happen as when the software is being updated the systems will have to be down to allow for the software to be uploaded to all the systems meaning that the users cannot use the system temporarily
· There could be a loss of income while the system is being updated
· The new version of software might have instability problems, which could be seen in an early update for Windows Vista
· Users of the new system may not like it as they may prefer the previous system
How to Reduce the Risks of Upgrading/Installing software
The installation or upgrade of software can sometimes go wrong. This can have an effect on the user of the computer system and can even affect the whole company.
Although the idea of things going wrong is frightening there are multiple different steps that can be taken to reduce the risk of things going wrong.
Risk-Reduction Measures
Risk-reductions measures that can be taken include:
· Performing a pilot of the new version so that you can get feedback on it, to see if anything can be improved
· Creating backups of the data and software on the current system so that if the new system fails you can always revert to the previous system, this could be done on a large scale on a server or on small scale on an external hard drive for a personal computer
· Creating a system recovery point so that the computer settings can be rolled back to the previous settings
· Installing the updated/upgraded software at a time which has low risk such as the weekend, on a bank holiday or over another time in which the system is not being used by many people
Advantages of Updating/Installing Software
The advantages of updating the current software or installing new software into the system include:
· The updated software may fix bugs in the current system for example when iMessage on iOS devices had an update which removed a bug which meant that some of the messages you sent would never arrive at the intended target
· Obtaining a newer version of the software which makes the company look good
· The updated software may make the current computer system more efficient and productive
· The newer software could fix security problems such as Apple’s iCloud’s password security problem which has now been fixed in the latest version
· The update could fix errors that the a previous user of the software has caused
· The update can repair damage done to the software by a virus
· New features may automate existing tasks such as autocorrect or autocomplete in Internet Explorer 5 by Microsoft
· Improved data sharing and communication within the organisation
Disadvantages/Risks of Updating/Installing Software
The disadvantages/Risks of updating the current software or installing new software into the system include:
· The new software may confuse the users of the old system which could be seen after Windows 8 was released to the public, it severely confused users of the old system which could not do any of the simple shortcuts and tips they knew from the previous version
· There may be bugs in the newer software, for example when the new iOS 7 was released which allowed users to bypass the passcode lock on the iPhone allow full access to the phone and gallery sections of the mobile
· The newer software might remove some of the old features of the previous version
· There might be a loss of service for users (both employees and customers), this can happen as when the software is being updated the systems will have to be down to allow for the software to be uploaded to all the systems meaning that the users cannot use the system temporarily
· There could be a loss of income while the system is being updated
· The new version of software might have instability problems, which could be seen in an early update for Windows Vista
· Users of the new system may not like it as they may prefer the previous system
How to Reduce the Risks of Upgrading/Installing software
The installation or upgrade of software can sometimes go wrong. This can have an effect on the user of the computer system and can even affect the whole company.
Although the idea of things going wrong is frightening there are multiple different steps that can be taken to reduce the risk of things going wrong.
Risk-Reduction Measures
Risk-reductions measures that can be taken include:
· Performing a pilot of the new version so that you can get feedback on it, to see if anything can be improved
· Creating backups of the data and software on the current system so that if the new system fails you can always revert to the previous system, this could be done on a large scale on a server or on small scale on an external hard drive for a personal computer
· Creating a system recovery point so that the computer settings can be rolled back to the previous settings
· Installing the updated/upgraded software at a time which has low risk such as the weekend, on a bank holiday or over another time in which the system is not being used by many people