MDU property owners are used to planning infrastructure upgrades. Most are well-informed about the lifespan of physical systems such as HVAC and roofing, for instance.

Careful planning of these essential systems helps the business owners prepare and budget for inevitable upgrades that are needed over time. By understanding the lifespan of each of these systems, proper funding can be worked into future budgets for major capital expenditures.

What’s more, this planning helps to lessen the blow that the impact of these upgrades causes residents. For instance, HVAC upgrades can be initiated during months with milder climates, at a time when residents are less likely to require air conditioning and heat.

You’d be hard-pressed to find a successful MDU property owner who doesn’t have these plans in place for major systems. Yet, many of these same people don’t have a similar plan for internet network upgrades.

This is a major oversight that can cause major disruptions throughout the business — negatively affecting the business’ short-term cashflow and long-term finances while angering tenants in the process.

Here are some reasons why MDU property owners need to plan for network upgrades just like other infrastructure.

The Type of Upgrade What type of upgrade does your property need? Has your software reached the end of its life? Do small hardware devices, computers and servers need to be replaced? Or, do you require a full-blown network infrastructure upgrade to allow for new systems to operate properly?

Knowing what you’ll need and when you’ll need it will help you properly plan, and budget, for these expenses.

The first step in this is a full analysis of your current network infrastructure.

Questions to ask include:

What are its components?
What’s the lifespan of each component, and when were they installed?
What are the likely mini-upgrades the components will need, and what does a complete replacement look like?

These are just a few of the questions you need to answer to properly plan for network infrastructure upgrades. While it may seem like a lot, doing so will help you make sound decisions on what upgrades to make and when — and how much it’s all going to cost.

What the Upgrade Affects Just like other infrastructure upgrades, network upgrades will affect other things on the property. The type and extent of the upgrade will determine how other components of your property will be affected.

Questions to ask include:

What else on the property will the network upgrade affect?
Will it be seen by tenants and affect their daily life, or can it all happen in the background?
Will there be network downtime for residents and/or staff members?
Will other upgrades and/or updates be necessary to other systems as a result?

The answers to these questions will help MDU property owners determine the appropriate path forward. Proper notification to residents of the upgrades and how it will affect their life is crucial to the overall success of the project. This allows residents to adjust based on the downtime, for example, which is crucial today when connectivity is so important.

For bigger projects, MDU property owners could even solicit feedback and input from residents on when they would prefer the downtime to occur. This would make them feel included in the process and more amenable to the change.

The Lifespan of the Upgrade

One of the most important aspects of network upgrades is the lifespan of the upgrade. In other words, how long will it be before you will typically need to make another upgrade?

This is a normal part of the planning process when it comes to roofs, for example. If you know that the typical lifespan of your roof is, say, 15 years, then you’ll adequately be able to budget for a full replacement down the line.

In addition, knowing this information will also help you decide whether intermediate fixes such as patches are worthwhile — based on how much the fix will cost and how many more usable years you have before a full replacement.

A process like this is what’s best for network upgrades as well. However, many MDU property owners approach network upgrades in a reactionary way. When something breaks or stops working properly, only the requisite upgrades or fixes are done in the moment to get the network running again.

This only results in a short-term fix, though, and not a long-term solution. It also causes multiple disruptions, the need for emergency funds, and costs the business more money in the long run.

Without proper planning, you won’t have any insight into whether the network fix you need to get back up and running is a good idea, or whether it’s an ill-advised upgrade that won’t put you in a good position long-term.

Elauwit Can Help You Assess Your Network

Planning for network upgrades just like other infrastructure is an essential part of the budgeting process for MDU property owners. One of the biggest challenges to doing this is that network infrastructure is foreign to many, unlike other major infrastructure systems such as roofs and HVAC.

Elauwit, a boutique national telecom services provider, can help you plan your network upgrades. Our team of dedicated professionals can work with you to do a full assessment of your current network and what you need to stay ahead of the game and ahead of your competitors.