Why is software maintenance important?

What types of software maintenance exist?

Now that you are clear about what maintenance is, it is important that you keep in mind that depending on the situation in which the software is found, there are four types of maintenance, these types are: Preventive maintenance Preventive maintenance is the action of modifying the software proactively or improving it without altering its operation. We can carry out this type of maintenance for various purposes such as correcting problems in the code, improving understanding, optimizing operation, optimizing resource consumption, etc. Corrective maintenance Corrective maintenance is the opposite of preventive maintenance: if in preventive maintenance we act proactively to prevent the error from occurring, in corrective maintenance we do it reactively to respond to existing errors or upcoming problems. Errors are inevitable and as much as we try to develop the best software, sooner or later and to a greater or lesser extent they will appear. Therefore, to minimize the time you spend correcting bugs and suffering the effects of their consequences, you should focus your efforts on three tasks:

• Have an adequate development process in order to minimize the number of bugs from the start.
• Perform preventive maintenance.
• Have adequate tools for the notification, classification and monitoring of errors.

Adaptive maintenance Adaptive maintenance consists of modifying the software, without altering its operation, in order to respond to changes in the environment. These changes tend to have a low impact on users as they focus on the internal workings of the software. Some examples of this type of maintenance could be:

• Modifying the software to adapt to changes in a third-party API.
• Adapt software to support a new version of the programming language.
• Update the version of a library or a framework.
• Support changes in the operating system or hardware.

Perfective maintenance Perfective maintenance improves the software’s functionality and usability, this maintenance is identified as a type of maintenance with a double objective: on the one hand, the incorporation of new functionalities or the modification of existing ones, and on the other hand, the necessary adaptations to ensure performance when there is a considerable increase in volume. Now, let’s take a real life example to discuss the importance of software maintenance, the food and beverage industry. The food industry is the one that carries out all the phases of the food chain. That is to say, it’s in charge of transforming raw material of animal and vegetable origin into food that will be taken to the market for direct consumption. Health and safety comes first for the food and beverage industry, food and beverage software preventative maintenance is capable of maximizing asset life, reducing downtime of food processing equipment and complying with strict health and safety compliance standards. Effective software can provide detailed documentation, give workers easy access to safety manuals and procedures, accurately catalog spare parts and maintain warehouse values, run reports showing data needed for inspections and audits, and keep technicians up to date with inspection and audit tasks. Discover how different types of custom software development can support your business goals.

What benefits do I get from maintaining my software?

All companies that have software, from the simplest to the most complex, will benefit from proper maintenance of their software periodically. Some of these benefits are:

1. Reduction of unforeseen stoppages in the operation: Whether your organization is dedicated to products or services, a failure in your software can paralyze the operation for hours and even days and cause heavy losses.
2. Useful life: Properly maintained software can increase its useful life and avoid failures at crucial moments.
3. Prevention and/or reduction of repair costs: by performing regular maintenance on your software you will be able to significantly reduce maintenance costs.

There are a lot of benefits thanks to software maintenance and more depending on the sector in which your company is located. Always keep in mind to do it constantly and with an expert team on the subject.