“Technology is like fish. The longer it stays on the shelf, the less desirable it becomes.”
Andrew Heller.
Almost every element of your OSS depreciates – your hardware (of course), your software, effort, customisations, etc.
The only element of your OSS that potentially doesn’t depreciate is your data.
As data ages, its relevance diminishes so it could be seen to be depreciating. The same is especially true if your data synchronicity is deteriorating.
However, if managed appropriately, it can actually represent an appreciating asset. As more data is collected, maintained and mined intelligently the connections generated by your analytics team alone could potentially offset all of your other depreciating OSS assets.
So, does your OSS have any appreciating assets amongst its constituent parts?