I came across a company still using VMware vSphere 5.5 from 2013, and they have over 500 Windows Server 2008/2012 instances. They're thinking about upgrading to VMware 6.x. With such outdated technology, I wonder how to approach companies like this without getting overwhelmed? Has anyone dealt with systems this far behind and what was your experience?
5 Answers
These companies usually don’t want to spend any money on IT. My approach would be to move on and let someone else take the headache. It’s way too much effort to work with them, honestly.
I’d just run away as quickly as I could. If they’re stuck on 5.5, I’d bet everything else is outdated too, which means non-redundant storage and no backups. That’s a recipe for disaster.
Yeah, once you start digging, you might find much worse issues under the surface.
I see this as a 'used car mindset.' Some companies are like my friend with a 300,000-mile car who just wants to keep patching things up instead of upgrading. Unless they're paying ridiculously well, it might not be worth the stress to get involved.
Haha, that’s such a perfect analogy. At that point, just get your payment upfront!
Honestly, as a sysadmin, I’d probably stay clear of companies like this. They tend to be resistant to investing in their IT. Plus, if you find a firm like this, half of them are usually nightmares while the other half might actually have recent investments if there's been a change in ownership.
Exactly! How do you even tell the difference without getting burned? Half the time it’s hard to tell if they’re desperate for help or just cheap.
Right? It's tough. Sometimes you can have hidden gems if they just hadn’t realized how behind they were.
You could start by asking the directors how they value their data and infrastructure. They might have been lucky so far avoiding breaches, but emphasizing the importance of security could push them to invest. And seriously, they need to consider alternatives to Broadcom.
That's a good tactic. Just make sure they realize the real cost of inaction, especially if they’re not aware of the potential downtime due to ransomware.
Right? But getting them to understand that might be a stretch!
True. At the end of the day, it often turns into a major hassle. It's a shame because they definitely need help.