Why Old Tech is Costing Factories Millions

Industrial companies are losing big money because of outdated tech. A recent study shows that factories using old automation systems are losing around $11. 28 million every year. This is because these systems are inflexible and hard to update. The study found that companies using old tech face several problems. These include downtime, inefficiencies, and high maintenance costs. These issues are often hidden by the perceived reliability of the old systems. Large companies lose around $45. 18 million annually, while smaller ones lose up to 25% of their revenue. Old automation systems are designed for static environments. They struggle to keep up with the dynamic demands of modern industries. Updating these systems is expensive and time-consuming. Proprietary architectures also limit data access, reducing visibility and responsiveness. Most companies use multiple distinct platforms, each with unique maintenance needs. This fragmentation drives vendor dependency and strains workforce efficiency. Siloed systems also hinder predictive maintenance and fast issue resolution, leading to costly downtime and lost productivity. The study suggests that open, software-defined automation offers a solution. This approach modernizes legacy systems, accelerates ROI, and strengthens industrial competitiveness and resilience. By decoupling software from hardware, manufacturers gain flexibility. They can integrate multi-vendor systems, adapt quickly to market shifts, and close engineering skill gaps. Companies are already seeing benefits from this approach. They start with pilot projects or asset-level trials, then expand to full-plant or multi-site deployments. This unlocks full data ownership, improved quality control, and greater cost transparency. The study highlights four critical cost areas. These include operational agility and resilience losses, optimization and efficiency costs, preventable quality failure and costly data maintenance, and sustainability and compliance costs. Each of these areas contributes to the overall financial impact of using old tech. Industrial leaders are deploying tactical solutions to sustain their core priorities. In a world where product lifecycles shrink, supply chains fracture, and talent gaps widen, agility and flexibility aren’t optional. They are survival. Every quarter a business delays addressing the cost of closed automation ecosystems is another $1M+ in lost value.