We have talked on many occasions about the negative results of companies on this platform that are simply not doing their due diligence to ensure their business systems stay current and modern.
“Why Should I Change Anything When Everything is Working Just Fine?”
I do not have enough fingers and toes to count the number of times I have heard someone on the IBM i platform make that comment. For a long time, I struggled to find the right response to that statement that would educate rather than insult. It became clear to me that trying to convince someone with that mindset was not an effective use of my time unless I could come up with a question or comment that would completely make them stop and think otherwise. Typically, that question or comment included the words “economic risk to the business.” With security concerns in today’s world that are keeping business owners up at night, that phrase is becoming more resounding.
The cons of not keeping your systems current are outweighing any pros of maintaining the status quo. The biggest negative being the costs involved in fixing a problem that could have been avoided with proper planning and upkeep of your systems. The goal of this article is to provide you with a solid, workable list of best practices for annual/biennial planned system maintenance.
Hardware & Software Maintenance – No brainer. Keep it current unless you want to deal with not getting support when you need it most or if you want to pay more than what it would have cost to just pay the annual maintenance fee. It more than pays for itself when you can get the assistance you need when you need it.
Firmware Updates (FSP)– Firmware is invisible to the user which can allow firmware hacks to go undetected before anyone notices any wrongdoing. Compromised firmware can lead to more serious attacks involving the OS, user passwords, releasing ransomware, etc. Companies sometimes put firmware updates on the back burner because they can be disruptive and require downtime. Wouldn’t you rather plan the downtime on your own schedule rather than have your system go down unexpectedly by an unfriendly outside source? According to Gartner, “By 2022, 70% of organizations without a firmware upgrade plan will suffer a breach due to firmware vulnerability.”
OS/PTF Updates – The further back you are, the more time and money …
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