Building a business that is in any way reliant on technology means that you will need to purchase both hardware and software for your business. Many businesses, choose to purchase consumer-grade software and hardware as opposed to professional grade software and hardware. This is partly due to, small to medium-sized businesses having a limited IT budget.
Although purchasing consumer-grade software and hardware can save money up front. However, it most likely will end up costing businesses in the long run. We’ll take a look at just a few of the reasons why it’s never a good idea to choose consumer-grade hardware and software for your business.
The Cons of Consumer Grade Hardware
IT equipment such as firewalls and routers play an essential function in most modern businesses. Businesses that purchase consumer grade IT equipment, though, open themselves up to a number of drawbacks, including:
Lack of Security
Consumers do not face the same security threats that businesses do, meaning that consumer grade hardware is able to get by with being less secure. For businesses using consumer grade hardware, though, this lack of security is a real concern.
Lack of Central Management and Control
Consumer grade routers and firewalls are designed to perform a very specific purpose and are not designed to be easily controlled or modified. This lack of control may or may not be a problem in the beginning. As your business grows, though, the inability to control and adapt your hardware can present challenges.
Lack of Performance
Consumer grade hardware is only made to support a limited number of devices, and many times that number falls well short of the number of devices that a business needs to support. This lack of performance can slow down your business’s efficiency and may lead to costly interruptions.
Lack of Vendor Support and Updates
Not only is consumer grade hardware less capable out of the box, it also remains less capable for its entire lifecycle due to a lack of frequent updates. At the same time, you probably won’t be able to count on much if any vendor support if you experience problems with your consumer grade hardware.
Compliance Restrictions
In 2019, there is a wide range of compliance standards that businesses must meet concerning the security of their network. In many cases, consumer-grade routers and firewalls simply do not meet these standards, making it impossible for your business to remain compliant.
The Cons of Consumer Grade Software
Software such as antivirus software and security suites is just as vital to a business as its IT equipment. Consumer grade software is just as lacking as consumer grade hardware. Just a few of the drawbacks of consumer-grade software include:
Lack of Reporting
Consumer grade security software will not send detailed reports about the health of your network and the threats that have been blocked, making it difficult for businesses to gauge the state of their network’s security.
Limited Scope of Protection
Consumer grade security software is designed to protect against the threats that individual consumers face – not the threats faced by businesses. This limited scope of protection means that your business may be vulnerable to a number of threats and attacks.
Lack of Central Management and Control
In the same way, that consumer grade hardware is difficult to manage and control, so is consumer grade software. Consumer grade software simply doesn’t offer the degree of flexibility and control that most businesses require as they grow.
Lack of Smart Automated Resolution
Professional grade security software is often able to automatically resolve security threats and issues on its own. While consumer-grade security software does not.
Bloated System Requirements and Performance Impacts for End Points
The bloated system requirements of consumer-grade software can bog down your network and affect its performance. This is especially true when it comes to the performance of the endpoints in your network.
Inability to Manage Multiple Platforms
With consumer-grade security software, you won’t be able to use the same software to secure multiple platforms in your IT infrastructure. Without streamline, this can create inefficiencies in your day to day operations as well as gaps in your network’s security.
Compliance Restrictions
As with consumer grade hardware, the software counterpart often does not meet the compliance standards that businesses are required to meet as they go about securing their network.
Conclusion
Purchasing consumer-grade hardware and software may save your business money upfront. Both consumer grade hardware and consumer grade software fall short of meeting the demands of most businesses. If you would like to learn more about how you can source professional grade hardware and software for an affordable price that will set your business up for success in the long-run, we invite you to contact us today
