Still Running On Previous Versions Of Drupal? Here’s Why You Must Upgrade
All good things must come to an end. Even the best software will eventually meet its end of life and you have to move. But most businesses put off upgrade plans because they’re time consuming and expensive. Why fix it if it isn’t broken?
Sure enough, your website is performing at its optimum level. Your customers haven’t noticed a thing. Why make the shift?
A software that has reached end of life can pose significant business risks. It can slowly add up to costs and make you lose out on market share to competitors.
Still On A Sunsetted Version Of Drupal? Top Business Risks You May Face.
Security Issues
EOL technology does not receive security updates or bug fixes. There’ll be no security patches or community support because your software is dead. It will make your business vulnerable to security breaches. Content can be stolen or misused. If your version of Drupal no longer meets PCI standards it is time to make the shift or you stand to lose financially.
Skyrocketing Maintenance Costs
Does your version of Drupal produce code that’ll keep your website performing at its best? No? Your development team is going to find it hard to update your site and integrations are going to be a pain. There are companies that support older versions of Drupal. But they’re expensive. And integrations with other systems will involve complex workarounds that can increase your technical debt.
User Data Privacy
If your Drupal site stores user data the onus is on you to maintain its privacy and security. By using a system that is no longer secure or supported by its community you could be putting your users’ confidential information at stake. This can result in loss of reputation, penalties or jail time.
Availability of features
You don’t want to miss out on cool new features. But it is not just the FOMO effect of missing out on shiny new features. Your competitors would quickly gain an edge over you and provide better customer experiences. This can lead to loss of market share and valuable customers.
Performance (in) Efficiency
A site that is powered by older versions of Drupal can get sluggish and may not be able to handle huge volumes of traffic. 40% of your customers would abandon your site if it takes more than 3 seconds to load. A site that is run on EOL software may not have a quick response time.
You’ll have to perform regular load tests and stress tests to minimize risks.
Economy
You wouldn’t drive a car that is old and runs into sporadic issues. Continuing with an EOL software is like driving a battered 30 year old car. It is unreliable, prone to issues, cannot be updated frequently, requires expert support, needs more testing time and can become more expensive to maintain over time.
Conclusion
To sum up, continuing with an EOL software is expensive in many ways. There are many hidden costs and workarounds. Your technology stack should support your business objectives and not hold you back.
Our Drupal team just upgraded our site to Drupal 9. Want to gain the superpowers of Drupal 9? Talk to our team today.
Meet Karthik Kalimuthu
Karthik is the head of delivery at Drupal partners. He has architected enterprise-grade Drupal websites and has over 10+ years of experience. A certified Drupal expert, he’d be happy to help you make the shift.