Zen and the art of software maintenance

It's surprising the number of businesses using old, outdated, and unsupported versions of software. For those businesses that don't regularly service their web applications and software platforms, there is a range of serious risks they pose to themselves, from being vulnerable to security threats to poor performance to software conflicts and incompatibility, amongst many others. The possible consequences can lead to compliance issues, defaced websites, stolen sensitive data such as access credentials, or even fully compromised sites.

Consider the cost and time put into the development of your website, the implementation of your Content Management System (CMS) and the integration capability with other business systems. Consider the benefits this has had for the organisation. Now consider, would you put this at risk? It's no different than servicing your car. It requires the same care and ongoing maintenance. A web application is not something you set up and forget. The systems Cerebrum uses (for example TYPO3, WordPress, Magento, SuiteCRM among others) have a clear lifecycle promise (often referred to as the 'roadmap'), upgrade path, and 'deprecation policy'.

Just as you want to ensure you have a safe and reliable vehicle, you need to do the same for your web applications. It runs fine for some time but you have to go to a repair shop every now and then. If you don't it becomes a danger for your passengers (consider this your users who interact with your website) and it poses the same risk for others on the road (other websites shared on the same server). For clients that don't want to roll out an update, we are forced to consider "quarantining" outdated/unsupported/insecure web applications to decentralised, isolated servers.

Don't put your business and others at risk by losing your road worthy certificate. Take the time to maintain your vehicle—your company website—that drives your business.

Keeping your software up-to-date with every release and system update is essential and a much easier solution than dealing with the consequences. You'll pay small amounts now and then, but it will costs less in the long run...and you'll have a lot more pleasant road trips without the worry.

Image Credit
'Caution' by Markus Spiske on Unsplash