Keep Downtime at a Minimum to Avoid Maximum Costs

A lot is made of the rising costs that everyone is seeing over the past several years. This inflation extends itself for IT-related downtime as well. Now that most businesses are using some form of technology to run their business, losing access to those systems for any length of time can be a major problem. Today, we’ll take a look at the cost of downtime, what causes it, and how to ensure that you do everything you can to keep it from negatively affecting your business.

The Cost of Downtime

No two businesses are the same so the average cost of a minute of downtime will absolutely be contingent on how technology downtime affects your ability to conduct business. In fact, most studies show that downtime can be measured in losses of hundreds, or even thousands of dollars per minute. No business can sustain that kind of cost while nothing is getting done. 

What Causes Downtime?

When you think of things that cause downtime, most people’s minds go right to the most sensational such as a whole business fire that levels your business or a flood that renders the whole space unusable. If this were the case, downtime would not be as common as it is. Here are the top five causes of downtime:

• Hardware failures - Physical components such as servers, storage devices, and network equipment can malfunction or fail, leading to significant downtime.
• Human error - Mistakes made by IT staff, such as incorrect configurations or accidental data deletion are a major cause of downtime.
• Cyberattacks - Cybersecurity incidents, including DDoS attacks, ransomware, and hacking, can disrupt IT services and cause prolonged downtime.
• Software bugs and glitches - Errors in software applications or operating systems can cause crashes, unexpected behavior, and downtime.
• Power outages - Electrical power failures can bring down data centers and other critical IT infrastructure, leading to downtime.

Some Steps to Help Reduce Downtime

Reducing IT-related downtime is crucial for maintaining productivity and minimizing losses. Here are the top three things you can do:

Implement a Robust Backup and Recovery Plan

You definitely want to regularly back up all critical data and systems. A system like a BDR that backs up data onsite and over the web creates the redundancy you’ll need should you be the victim of a cyberattack or if you are forced to shuffle your central hardware situation. You’ll want to test backups periodically to ensure data can be restored quickly and correctly and have a disaster recovery plan in place, including detailed steps to follow in case of a system failure or data loss.

Conduct Regular Maintenance and Updates

To ensure that your IT is working as intended you will want to keep all software, including operating systems and applications, up to date with the latest patches and updates. Perform regular hardware maintenance, such as cleaning, checking for wear and tear, and replacing old components before they fail. Proactively monitoring all of your IT can go a long way toward keeping downtime to a minimum.

Invest in Robust Security Measures

With cyberattacks continuously on the rise, you will want to outfit your IT with the security infrastructure necessary to thwart threats. Use firewalls, antivirus software, and intrusion detection systems to protect against cyber threats. You’ll also want to regularly update security protocols to help better identify and fix vulnerabilities. Finally, training your employees on cybersecurity best practices will go a long way toward preventing the problems associated with many of the social engineering and phishing attacks that they come into contact with.

Don’t let downtime ruin your business. Give the IT experts at BNMC a call today at (978) 482-2020 to learn how we can significantly reduce the IT downtime your organization experiences.