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You outfitted your office with state-of-the-art IT equipment just a couple of years ago only to find that today those "fastest, biggest and best" technology purchases are outdated.

With the lifecycle of today's PC averaging three to four years, keeping technology up-to-date has become an expensive endeavor.

Fortunately, more options exist than repurposing older systems as giant paperweights and sacrificing hard-earned dollars to put brand new machines on every employee's desk.

The best option for improving your office technology is developing an upgrade strategy.

One such strategy is to develop an upgrade cycle that replaces one-third of your office's computers every year. If you have users that need more advanced systems, purchase new PCs for these employees on an annual basis and hand the systems down as needed. This approach helps spread tax deductions more evenly while minimizing upgrades and repairs.

Other strategies involve adding upgrade items that bring your older technology back up to speed while maximizing employee productivity. Here are a few suggestions:

• Increase storage space by adding external USB 2 or Fire Wire hard drives. External hard drives allow for quick transfer rates between systems and other drives. And when you're ready to invest in new computers for the office, you'll always have the extra digital storage space on hand should you need it.
• Install more random access memory (RAM). If your office is running applications that require large portions of system resources, upgrading the amount and/or type of memory can speed up those applications and allow you to run more programs with less strain on your hardware.
• Boost computer performance by upgrading to a speedier CD-ROM drive, perhaps even a CD-R/RW and DVD-R/RW. "Writable" drives are becoming faster and less expensive all the time, and their "burning" capability provides the ideal storage solution for large amounts of data.
• Consider upgrading to an LCD monitor, which uses less electricity and takes up less space.
• Invest in 802.11 wireless networking. Unlike traditional network connections, wireless networking doesn't require any significant wiring or retrofitting, and it is possible to have the network running within a few hours. Another added bonus is the flexibility it offers for companies that frequently swap offices.

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