IT infrastructure is the backbone of businesses. And IT outages mean damage to backbones and paralysis for businesses.
They come unplanned but cause damages that can take days and weeks to repair. Months in some cases.
Most businesses think having the best gadgets can prevent outages altogether but that doesn’t happen.
There are several reasons for outages – hardware failures, software glitches, cyberattacks, power outages, or even human error. Most of them are beyond the control of businesses, yet they suffer.
And, don’t think it can’t happen to you. That’s one of the most common reasons why people don’t opt for outage prevention.
What would you prefer? Have the extinguisher ready or go buy it when the fire is already spreading fast?
Businesses that prepare for outages are in a far better and more controlled position to handle them and mitigate losses.
It’s estimated that IT outages can cost $5,600 per minute. But that’s not all. Besides obvious financial losses, let’s see some other damages companies face.
The Negative Results of IT Outage
IT outage affects the whole organisation. Even those who’ve got functional machines can’t connect with those who got impacted. It’s a 360 influence.
Let’s take a close look at some of the losses companies suffer.
The Immediate Impact: Lost Productivity
It starts with questions like –
“Hey, is your email working?”
“Can you access the company VPN, or is it down?”
“Is anyone else having trouble accessing the network?”
“Are others experiencing slow performance, or is it just my system?”
And next thing you know – everyone’s turning and confirming the outage. It can result in tanked productivity. Especially if it happens in the peak hours of the day when everyone is focused on meeting their targets and deadlines.
Even 20 to 30 minutes of outage can take away the momentum. Studies show that average downtimes last for at least 4 hours. That’s almost a day’s worth of work lost.
It also impacts remote workers which makes it even more harder to control the damage.
Customer Impact: Frustration and Lost Trust
Naturally, the impact is transferred to the customers. When your employees can’t access their computers, they can’t service the employees.
And you don’t have to be directly involved with the customers. Suppose you sell SaaS products and your IT outage caused the website to go down. Imagine the business you’ll lose by customers not accessing the site.
On the other hand – if you are a direct customer-facing e-commerce business then just imagine the frustration your buyers will feel. Frustrated customers can’t place orders or access their accounts. This not only leads to lost sales but also damages customer trust. This can potentially drive your customers to competitors.
Reputational Damage: A Hit to Your Brand Image
Businesses that heavily rely on digital & online activities have their reputation dependent on how strong their IT management is. If the customers lose access to the business, that’s a loss.
That’s the reason why most companies schedule IT maintenance in downtime. Because in the peak hours – it means losing business and damaging reputation.
That’s not all – they can even give you negative ratings on online platforms which can take years to justify or overcome. We understand that businesses can have zero faults about the outage but when the customers are frustrated, you can’t do much.
Now, let’s talk about some damages that aren’t as apparent as the ones mentioned above. But these hidden ones can be more peskier than them.
Hidden Costs: Beyond the Obvious
The financial impact of IT downtime extends beyond lost productivity, sales & reputation. There are other costs that may not be on your radar. Here are some hidden costs of downtime to consider.
Employee Demoralisation
Employees can be forgiving of an outage once in a few years but if it’s a frequent happening – they’ll be demoralised for sure. Because even if you pay them overtime to meet targets, they’ll still have to adjust their lives and plans to get work done.
Plus, employees can get demotivated when their work plans aren’t executed because of technological lapse. Eventually, they’ll get frustrated and either retaliate strongly to get IT maintenance or look to work somewhere else.
Word – employees who face customers directly can get stronger reactions and get fed up quicker.
Emergency Repairs
IT outages are super frustrating and induce anxiety. On one hand, you can’t operate and on the other hand, you’d be calling any IT management service that can just take the project urgently. You’ll have zero bargaining power at the time and something that’s $2000 could cost you $20,000.
Plus, you’d not have time to ensure if they’re trustworthy or not. When they’re not under any contract, they can’t guarantee you on sensitive matters such as data protection.
All this risk can be reduced to almost zero when you retain an IT management service. That way emergency costs are avoided and you’ll not be baffled if the unfortunate instance occurs. You simply call your service and get the job done.
Data Loss or Corruption
Severe outage cases can lead to data loss or corruption. This can mean expensive recovery efforts. If the data can’t be recovered, it can mean hours of staff time entering data. All to just get you to where you were before the outage.
And often the data is just too sensitive to take such risks. Your customer’s privacy can be at stake and if that’s compromised, you could be inviting lawsuits that can last for months and cost you hundreds of thousands in penalties.
It’s just not worth the hassle. We have a recent Crowdstrike outage example. The company is facing several legal challenges because of the mishap. If an IT mishap can happen to such a big company, then imagine how vulnerable SMEs usually are.
Also, this can easily become a compliance issue as companies are liable to protect data. Even if the outage is fixed, compromised data can lead to fines and penalties.
IT Outages are Costly
By now you know that avoiding outage prevention can be costly. In fact, most companies don’t realise how much it can cost and when they’re unprepared, outages can come as surprise costs.
The exact cost of IT downtime varies depending on your industry, size, and duration of the outage.
But, we have some estimates.
Studies reveal that the average cost of IT downtime can be in the thousands of dollars per hour. For larger businesses, this figure can skyrocket into the millions.
A Ponemon Institute study estimates the average IT downtime cost from $5,600 to nearly $9,000 per minute. These costs can be significantly reduced if you have a managed IT service retained to rescue you from tough situations like these.
Prevention is Key: Proactive Measures for Business Continuity
The good news? Most IT downtime is preventable. But businesses will have to take the first step. Most businesses underestimate the chances of them getting an outage. And that causes the most harm.
But businesses that don’t want to take the risk – here’s what they should do:
• Invest in Reliable IT Infrastructure:
Focus on high-quality hardware and software. Look for a proven track record of reliability. Don’t cut corners here because you’ll end up paying way more than you save. You can also have powerful software installed that can provide additional layers of protection against outages.
• Regular System Maintenance:
Schedule regular maintenance to identify and address potential issues. This will largely prevent outages. You can set a 3-6 month period for maintenance depending on your business size and requirements.
• Data Backup and Recovery:
Install robust data backup and recovery to mitigate data loss in case of an outage. This shouldn’t be neglected at any cost. For most businesses, data is the most precious asset they have. It’s likely that nothing will happen, but if and when it does, you should be prepared, not regretful.
• Disaster Recovery Plan:
Develop a comprehensive disaster recovery plan. It should outline steps to take in case of an outage, ensuring a swift and efficient recovery. If you’re inexperienced, you can hire an IT management service to help you with a disaster recovery plan.
• Employee Training:
Educate employees on cybersecurity best practices. This minimises the risk of human error causing downtime. Such as websites to avoid, links to ignore, password protection tips, etc.
Investing in Uptime: Building Business Resilience
IT outages can be super costly. While it’s common to consider IT maintenance as an added expense, it looks so much cheaper when the emergency arrives and they see the bills.
For most businesses, it’ll cost so much less if they treat it as an investment rather than an expense. When outages happen, they aren’t just minor inconveniences – they put your business and reputation at stake.
Why put everything at risk when you can control it and operate smoothly without the risk of outages?
Need Some Help Improving Your Downtime Resilience?
Don’t wait for an outage to occur before you make a move.
Stats show that 82% of companies have had an outage in the last few years. That’s too high a number to ignore. Get your tech reviewed now and have the right IT maintenance protocol in place.
So you’re prepared to get back up and running in the shortest possible time in case of an outage.
Contact us today to schedule a chat about your technology.
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