Obviously, IT is in the middle. And we understand why vendors want to push out new products. It's about money: from upgrades, from customers captured from competitors, maybe even from a whole new customer set.

We have a little more trouble understanding why users are so willing to stay with aging products for so long. Sure, there's money involved. And OK, the old stuff is familiar and comfortable. But IT deals with change all the time. We learn new languages, master new systems and figure out new technologies on a regular basis. We accept that it's just part of the job. Why won't users?

Because for them, it's about pain, remember? And not just the existential pain of change. A new system means users will lose their habits -- the well-memorized procedures and tricks and shortcuts that let them do business while paying minimal attention to the technology. Users don't care that hardware or software is obsolete. But they do care when their habits hit the junk pile.

That's what hurts for them. That's why they'll put up with a lot before giving up some old systems as obsolete.

How can we help them redefine obsolescence? By paying attention to pain. Training won't be enough to get users fully up to speed on a new system -- we know that. But we can watch and listen. We can collect new tips and shortcuts and work-arounds from enthusiastic power users, and pass those along to other users. Everything we do to make the new system less painful will help.