Computers and the associated digital technology were always designed to do one thing, and that was to increase productivity. Whether the user was at the office or at home, the entire premise of computing was that things could be done almost instantly in the digital world. That was supposed to compare with taking small, but relatively fixed, chunks of your time to dedicate to accomplishing tasks in the physical world.

However, with computers came problems, at least until the idea of software distribution was thought up. One problem that seems minor but leads to many headaches is that of inter-office software compatibility issues. If your employees are left to make their own decisions about when to upgrade their software, there will be wide variance. Tech-oriented types will download updates the second that they become available, interested in improved functionality. Others, of the “if it’s not broken, don’t fix it” school of thought, will cling to their present version for a long time. This can lead to cross platform issues as old programs meet new, and the synchronization isn’t smooth.

To avoid the problem, it’s becoming more and more common to engage a software distribution service. These champions of productivity upgrade every computer in the office at the same time, eliminating those old headaches caused by employees left to their own upgrade schedules. In a technology-rich office, it should be standard practice to get every employee on the same version of program, from video chat to global connections between international office branches. Computers were never designed to decrease productivity, and letting some people drag their feet on upgrades leads to exactly that scenario.