Planned Obsolescence: Definition, Impact, Challenges

Implemented after the 1929 crisis in the United States to boost the economy, planned obsolescence became widespread in the 1950s and turned into a formidable tool to "encourage" consumers to frequently renew their equipment. What does planned obsolescence mean when applied to new information technologies and software licensing? What is its impact on the environment? How can you extend the lifespan of your equipment without hindering your IT system's performance?

What is planned obsolescence?

The throwaway culture is defined as "the set of techniques by which a product's marketer aims to deliberately shorten its lifespan to increase the replacement rate." This practice, which has become ingrained, results in products with intentionally shortened lifespans, prohibitive repair costs, and limited availability of spare parts over time. This unfair commercial practice aims to stimulate overconsumption, leading to an overproduction that is devastating in many respects.

The impact of planned obsolescence on the environment

From an environmental point of view, the throwaway culture leads to the overexploitation of raw materials, the destruction of ecosystems, and the depletion of natural resources. Planned obsolescence produces 20 to 50 million tons of waste worldwide each year, much of which is buried in southern countries, with disastrous social and environmental consequences. In France, it represents up to 20 kg of waste per person per year.

Planned obsolescence affects household appliances, high-tech products, and cars. New technologies are also affected by planned obsolescence and the overexploitation of natural resources. For instance, manufacturing a computer requires nearly 800 kg of raw materials, with a CO2 equivalent emission of 124 kg, while its lifespan is deliberately limited.

The different types of planned obsolescence

The French Environment and Energy Management Agency (ADEME) distinguishes two types of planned obsolescence:

• Functional obsolescence, where a product no longer meets expectations for technical, regulatory, or economic reasons. Also known as "planned obsolescence of function," it consists of rendering a product obsolete by launching a new product that more effectively meets your needs.
• Style obsolescence or planned obsolescence of desirability, where a product no longer fulfills user desires due to its outdated design, for example.

There are other types of planned obsolescence, such as:

• Indirect obsolescence: the case of ink cartridges and printers is symptomatic of an abusive practice.
• Notification obsolescence: when your computer or smartphone notifies you of a battery change.
• Incompatibility obsolescence: which is similar to functional obsolescence as it encourages the replacement of equipment to allow for a software upgrade.

The planned obsolescence of software, what are the challenges?

Planned obsolescence is a common practice in the field of software licensing. Publishers use it to maintain high levels of revenue despite a low-growth installed base. According to the General Council for the Environment and Sustainable Development, software obsolescence can be defined as "caused by the unavailability or malfunction of the software". In practice, publishers release minor and major software updates at a rapid pace, causing compatibility issues with the hardware configurations on which they are installed and integration problems for the user with new features that are not necessarily useful.

The development of cloud technologies and the generalization of on-demand solutions have accelerated these unfair practices and made users and IT directors even more captive, having lost control of their licenses to the benefit of the publishers.

How to fight against planned software obsolescence?

To fight against software obsolescence and extend the lifespan of your infrastructure in an eco-responsible approach, simply replace your on-demand licenses with on-premise second-hand software licenses. By favoring the use of perpetual licenses, you regain control over the evolution of your software architecture and decide the pace of updates based on your users' functional needs. This strategy of optimizing your software assets allows you to precisely determine your needs, the expected features, and the unused licenses. Thanks to the Softcorner marketplace, the European leader in the second-hand software license market, you can buy the software licenses you need at a lower cost (compliance, project development, or equipping a new station) and sell your decommissioned licenses.