As a founder of a business running on Ruby on Rails, you may wonder, if you have a working Ruby on Rails application, why is there a need to continue maintaining it? Is it really necessary? Isn’t it cheaper to do nothing?

Here are 5 reasons you should definitely include application maintain in your budget.

1. Ruby on Rails Maintenance prevents application stoppage

If you do not maintain your software it will eventually stop working, partially then completely. This will happen at a time and date you do not expect. Fixing the issue could be expensive, result in stress and possibly lost customers. Finding someone skilled enough to resolve the issue could take a long time. In emergency situations, you may need a Rails rescue service to quickly stabilize your application.

However, if you hire a professional Ruby on Rails consultancy to regularly maintain your system every month, you will avoid expensive breakage to your system. In addition, an expert Ruby on Rails consultancy like Rails Fever that provides ongoing support will understand your system enough to build regular feature requests. They can review code written by other developers in your team to ensure that high-quality work is being delivered - to ensure that your development costs are being wisely used.

2. Ruby on Rails Maintenance makes it easier to hire new developers

When you stay on an old version of Ruby and Rails the talent pool of developers that can work with that version is reduced every year. This is because when new versions are released, most companies upgrade and developers learn new ways of writing Ruby on Rails code.

Most developers have little interest in working on very old platforms. Documentation for old platforms could be hard to find. This is a hidden cost of failing to maintain your Ruby on Rails application.

3. Ruby on Rails Maintenance prevents a complete application rewrite

A company running an old version of Rails runs the risk that its system becomes so obsolete it may eventually have to be abandoned and rebuilt from scratch.

Even if you could afford a rewrite, you may not be able to rebuild all the existing functionality into a new platform. How would you migrate users to the new platform? Would you experience data loss?

Rewriting your system from scratch is a “nuclear option” that should be avoided if possible. The risk of losing existing customers is very high. The impact on your business could be catastrophic.

4. Ruby on Rails Maintenance allows developers to build new features faster

Building new features on a properly maintained Ruby on Rails application is both faster and cheaper. Attempting to build some features on old versions of Ruby on Rails may be impossible. Your business benefits because the latest tools in the Rails ecosystem are available to your developers. This allows them to work efficiently and with agility.

Each version of Ruby on Rails sets new standards for how Rails apps should be built. New features are provided to developers. An experienced Ruby on Rails consultancy can help guide your team to rewrite existing code to take advantage of new Rails features.

5. Ruby on Rails Maintenance protects you from hacking

According to cybersecurity experts, 30,0000 websites are hacked every day. Security vulnerabilities are regularly found and fixed. To obtain these fixes you must upgrade your Ruby on Rails application.

Failure to upgrade your Ruby on Rails application leaves your website and data vulnerable to hacking schemes. Hackers cost businesses lots of money every day. How much will it cost your business to recover from hackers?

What is the cost of doing nothing?

Maintaining your Ruby on Rails application every month costs some money, however, it is cheaper than the price you will pay when you have a catastrophic problem.

To illustrate imagine you are driving a 30-year-old vehicle that appears to be functioning properly. Why buy a new one, isn’t it cheaper to do nothing? What happens when you have a catastrophic accident that could have been prevented if you had a modern car with updated safety features? Paying for a newer vehicle would have been significantly cheaper than the resulting bodily damage.

Similarly, if you save money by not spending on maintaining your application, would the savings be worth it when your application experiences a severe problem? How much stress will it cost you? How many customers could you lose? How much money could your business lose?

Benefits of Maintaining your Ruby and Rails application

Need help maintaining your Ruby on Rails application? At Rails Fever we offer comprehensive Rails Care Plans for ongoing maintenance, technical audits to assess your current state, and Rails upgrades to keep you current.

Schedule a Rails Maintenance Audit to get a detailed list of action items that your Rails app needs.