How to Prevent Downtime From Paralyzing Your Business

Downtime has the potential to cripple your business, especially if you don’t have a formidable budget in place for IT services. The issue really becomes a problem when it occurs regularly. Frequent downtime does plenty more than negatively impact the bottom line. It also causes widespread frustration that hangs like a dismal black cloud over your organization.

A Brief Definition of Downtime

You might have heard about downtime in the past and not have a clear idea of what it actually is. Downtime is best thought of as the amount of time that a computer system is out of service. It can result from hardware failure, an attack by a virus or something like a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack. Regardless of the cause, it should be feared simply because it has the potential to paralyze your business.

Contemporary Workers Need System Access

Today’s employees can’t work when your systems fail to run. Sure, they can do small tasks around their cubicles during this period of time yet they can’t get important, “real” work done without access to an operable system. The bottom line is that human personnel is dependent on server functionality. If your servers fail to collect data, people can’t push your enterprise forward. Therefore, downtime should be thought of as no different than an immediate loss of profit as well as a loss of opportunities.

The Financial Cost of Downtime

According to NetworkComputing, around $700 billion is lost each year due to downtime affecting information and communications technology. This figure accounts for losses due to decreased employee productivity, decreased revenue and the cost of resolving downtime issues.

Causes of Downtime

Downtime is caused by a number of different sources. One of the main sources is a hardware failure or issues with computer-related equipment. The unfortunate truth is that plenty of businesses tend to use the same technology they have been using for the past half-decade or longer. Such outdated computer equipment poses major risks as it is comparatively vulnerable to attacks. It is critically important that businesses re-invest in their computing hardware and safeguards in order to mitigate downtime as much as possible.

How to React to Downtime

Your best course of action is to ally with a group of professional IT specialists who can work to prevent downtime from happening in the first place. If you are saddled with a downtime occurence, the damage will be limited if you have a Backup and Disaster Recovery (BDR) solution in place. It will play an important role in protecting your company’s data and other assets if a cyberthief attempts to infiltrate your system or if there is a potentially catastrophic data loss. BDR performs numerous backups on a daily basis to prevent as much data loss as possible. This saved information can be sent to your systems through the cloud, empowering you to maximize recovery and reduce downtime. BDR can even function as a temporary server while your IT experts work on bringing the downed server back online.

IT Services

Stay on the offense by monitoring your systems on a regular basis to verify that a critical system failure is not looming. Better yet, outsource this work along with other IT responsibilities to our team. We will proactively handle your IT maintenance and attack prevention measures so you don’t have to worry about them. Centerpoint IT is the trusted choice when it comes to staying ahead of the latest information technology tips, tricks, and news. Contact us at (404) 781-0200 or send us an email at info@centerpointit.com for more information.