The Network Hardware Nobody Budgets For

THE NETWORK HARDWARE NOBODY BUDGETS FOR

Most IT budgets plan for the technology employees can see: laptops, monitors, the occasional software license. Almost none plan for the switch mounted in the server closet, the access point hanging in a ceiling tile, or the power strip tucked under a desk since the office was built out. That is a planning gap, not a coincidence — and it is exactly the equipment most likely to fail first, and most likely to still be running years past the point where it can actually protect the business.

None of this network hardware asks for attention. It has no dashboard, no renewal notice, no IT ticket queue. It just works — until the day it does not, or until it quietly becomes the easiest way into your network.

Why This Belongs on a Leadership Agenda

Two business outcomes are tied directly to this overlooked layer of infrastructure: speed and security.

On speed: business-grade switches typically deliver 7 to 10 years of useful service, while wireless access points have a shorter effective life of roughly 3 to 5 years because Wi-Fi standards and the number of connected devices per employee both keep climbing. An access point installed before Wi-Fi 6 became standard in 2019 was engineered for a workplace with far fewer connected devices per person than today’s — phones, laptops, badge readers, cameras, and IoT sensors all competing for the same aging radio.

On security: aging network gear is a documented, active target. In 2025, Cisco disclosed that its Small Business 200, 300, and 500 Series switches,  hardware still in service in many small and midsized offices, contained critical vulnerabilities that could let an unauthenticated attacker execute code with root privileges. Because those switch models had reached end-of-life, Cisco confirmed it would not issue a fix. The only remediation was replacement. This is not an isolated case: in early 2026, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) issued a binding directive ordering federal agencies to inventory and remove end-of-life edge devices — routers, firewalls, and switches — specifically because threat actors are actively exploiting unsupported hardware as an entry point into otherwise well-defended networks.

The lesson for a private business is the same one CISA drew for the federal government: unsupported network hardware does not become risky gradually. It becomes risky the day the vendor stops patching it, whether or not anyone notices.

The Power Strip Problem

Power strips and surge protectors fail in a way that is easy to miss: they degrade with use rather than breaking outright. Inside most surge protectors, small components called metal oxide varistors (MOVs) absorb excess voltage during a power event. Each surge, even a minor one from a storm, a nearby motor cycling on, or the building’s HVAC kicking in, wears those components down a little further. The strip keeps supplying power and its indicator light may stay lit, but its ability to actually protect connected equipment can be gone. Most manufacturers put a realistic service life on these devices at 3 to 5 years, sooner if the building has experienced a significant surge or outage.

A dead surge protector is invisible until the day it fails to do its job — usually during the exact event, a lightning strike or grid fluctuation, that it was purchased to guard against.

What to Look for on a Walkthrough

• Switches more than 7 years old, or any switch model your manufacturer has listed as end-of-life or end-of-support.
• Access points more than 5 years old, or any that predate Wi-Fi 6 (installed before roughly 2019).
• Power strips or surge protectors more than 3 to 5 years old — especially ones nobody remembers installing.
• Any surge protector or basic power strip being used as a permanent substitute for a real uninterruptible power supply (UPS) on critical equipment.
• Daisy-chained power strips, overloaded outlets, or strips hidden behind furniture where heat can build up unnoticed.
• A strip or protector that took a direct hit from a storm, outage, or brownout and was never replaced afterward.
• Any network device still running its original, out-of-the-box firmware with no update history.
• Equipment purchased used, inherited from a prior office buildout, or with no record of purchase date at all.

A Practical Refresh Timeline

The Fix Is a Habit – Not a Crisis Response

None of this requires an emergency. It requires a consistent habit: an annual walkthrough that gives switches, access points, and power protection the same attention as servers and workstations. A few simple practices make that easy to sustain.

• Tag every switch, access point, and surge protector with a physical asset label and installation date when you install it—not years later when someone is trying to figure out how old it is.
• Track end-of-life and end-of-support dates for the specific hardware models in your environment, not just the broader product family.
• Replace surge protectors based on their age or surge history instead of waiting for them to fail.
• Include network hardware refreshes in next year’s IT budget alongside laptops and servers, rather than treating them as unexpected expenses after a failure.
• Ask your IT provider for a documented inventory showing the age and support status of every piece of network hardware. If that inventory doesn’t exist, start there.

Businesses that make this part of their regular maintenance routine avoid the two problems that generate the most expensive headlines: ransomware gaining access through an outdated switch that no one replaced, and a network outage during the very storm their aging power protection was supposed to handle.

Not sure how old your network hardware really is? A Tech Group network health assessment inventories your switches, access points, and power protection, flags anything past end-of-support, and gives you a straightforward refresh plan — no guesswork required.

Tech Group | The Human Side of IT
sales@tgvt.net  |  802-862-1197  |  www.TGVT.net