‘Evergreen’ technology is affecting businesses across the UK and around the world. It’s a natural consequence of DevOps development cycles or sprints. When this happens, updates are released as soon as the sprint completes, or as soon as a minimum viable product is available. Then the next cycle starts. Cycles/sprints are typically between two and four weeks long, meaning new releases are continually dropped.
However, small businesses should also avoid getting lost in the many updates and upgrades available. If you aren’t careful, problems could arise over which you have little control.
Here’s how evergreen technology affects business and what you should do as an SME, public sector organisation, church or charity.
What is ‘Evergreen’ technology?
‘Evergreen’ technology encompasses software or services that receive constant updates and new features. For example, a wifi router with automatic updates enabled could be described as ‘evergreen’, but it’s the software that is actually changing.
It’s often purchased on a subscription basis instead of a one-off buy.
One of the most notable examples is Microsoft 365. Every month, there are new features, upgraded tools and improved security patches (to name but a few). This means you always have the most up-to-date, enhanced version of Microsoft 365.
It’s in stark contrast to Microsoft Office. This is the more traditional way of doing things. The developer (Microsoft) creates a software program (Office) that it sells to customers to install on their devices. While the licence should include updates every now and then, the overall features and layout are unlikely to change much, if at all. The risk here is that as new – or replacement – technologies come onto the marketplace, your business could get left behind if you don’t upgrade.
What are the pros and cons of ‘Evergreen’ technology?
‘Evergreen’ technology comes with several pros and cons that all small business owners should be aware of.
Of course, it’s usually great that you constantly have the most recent updates of your software. This means you’ll have far fewer potential security breaches, and the programs should always be operating at maximum efficiency. Subscription services also mean you can upscale and downscale whenever your organisation might need it.
However, there are a couple of things to be aware of. Firstly, the changes the software developer makes might not actually be helpful to you. As the software end-user, you have relatively little choice about the updates. They’re happening, regardless. These changes could be pretty minor or cosmetic (like the recent change to Outlook’s search bar) or more significant, such as removing support for an older program.
How should small businesses react to ‘Evergreen’ technology?
With traditional software, organisations would spend weeks carefully testing any new updates or programs. They’d ensure they interfaced with pre-existing systems and the devices on which they would run. However, with evergreen technology, this is essentially impossible for all but the largest companies. There are simply too many updates, and they happen too often. This isn’t a feasible option for small businesses unless you can afford to hire a dedicated testing team for your ICT department.
If your small business, public sector organisation, charity or church uses evergreen technology, follow these steps to get the best results.
- Know how to control the introduction of new features and upgrades
- Keep track of the new updates as soon as they’re announced
- Inform the product owner and ensure they know about the changes
- Compile a list of software interfaces which are critical to the organisation and thus always need testing and prioritising
- Introduce new features to a limited test group first
- Have a process by which to tell all users about the changes
- Receive feedback from users
- Feed information back to the software vendor to report the negative (or positive) impacts of new features
AMDH Services Limited
Here at AMDH Services Limited, we’re an independent ICT consultancy focusing on cloud-based strategy, implementation and networking. We believe in helping you make the most of recent technologies to increase your organisation’s productivity and efficiency. As an official Microsoft Partner, we are firmly convinced that Microsoft 365 is the best way to go.
We’ll send one of our highly experienced team members to partner with your ICT department. That way, we can analyse your situation to identify the precise solutions that will benefit your organisation.
If you’d like some help designing, implementing or maintaining a Microsoft 365 system, or help implementing the above advise regards managing the “evergreen” elements of Microsoft 365, we’re here to help. Get in touch with us for a free, friendly chat about your business and what you need. We can be reached using the contact form at the bottom of the page. Alternatively, give us a call on 01332 322 588 or drop an email to our inbox. Our email address is info@amdhservicesltd.com.
We look forward to helping your organisation progress.
