Most companies are using cloud-based networks for providing their services and products. Thus, system uptime has become a very important thing. Every business needs access to good IT infrastructure. If your networks are down, then you can’t provide services to your customers. In some cases, you can actually go bankrupt due to system downtime. The worst thing about system downtime is that it will affect your business reputation. Your customers might move to other platforms.
According to a report from Gartner, companies lose more than $5,600 for every minute of downtime. This will also depend on the scope and size of your business. Large enterprises can lose millions of dollars in an hour. Even SMBs can lose up to $540k for a single hour of downtime. In this article, we are going to talk about how system downtime can impact your entire business.
Lost productivity
Most businesses are using online services and communications. You might be using virtual chat software or email to communicate with your clients and employees. Similarly, most companies are using management tools for managing their projects. If you don’t have access to your network, then your employees can’t do their work. It will stop all your business operations. This can be devastating for smaller companies as they mostly rely on cloud applications. SMBs don’t have enough money to buy their own resources and applications. Thus, they generally use cloud applications to complete their work.
You will lose a lot of productivity as your employees need to wait for servers to come back. In general cases, you need to pay for the operating and labor costs even in case of downtime. Thus, you will end up paying rent, fees, and salaries for no work.
System downtime can be very devastating for manufacturing companies as it will shut down their entire production line. There are various industrial tools that are using the new edge computing framework. Thus, they can work even in case of network downtime. However, most companies are still using old technology. Delay in one business operation will delay other operations. Thus, system downtime will create a domino-like effect.
Lost opportunities
Most companies are using online platforms for doing their business. Network downtime means that your customers can’t access your online services. They can’t find or buy your services and products. If your potential customers can’t access your website, then it will affect your revenue. Also, your existing customers can’t access your products and services.
If your business depends on online sales, then system downtime will be devastating for your business. According to a survey from Website Magazine, more than 47% of online customers expect websites to load in 2-3 seconds. If your website takes more time to load, more than 40% of customers will switch to another website. Thus, you will lose most of your customers in an hour. Most customers don’t even want to use slow service. Therefore, you can understand the impact of complete service loss.
Data Loss
The worst nightmare for modern companies is probably data loss. Most companies will usually back up their data. However, network downtime can lead to many uncomfortable situations. Your files might be corrupted or damaged. Also, downtime can lead to cyberattacks as attackers can find an easy backdoor in your network. They might destroy and steal your valuable data. If your employees and customers can’t access their data, then it will cause a lot of panic. You can use data backups for recovering your data but your customers will lose confidence in your company. They will move to other reliable companies. Most modern businesses are also using big data analytics for conducting their business. Data loss can be very costly for these businesses. It can affect your entire business operation.
Brand Damage
The worst thing about system downtime is that it will affect your brand reputation and awareness. However, these things will only cause immediate pain. System downtime can actually permanently damage your brand image. If your customers can’t access your services or products, then they will stop using them. However, this is not the end. They will also share their bad experiences with their friends and families. Your customers might write a negative review of your brand. These things can affect your brand image. It will push away all your current and potential customers. Thus, system downtime can permanently damage your brand. You need to then work on again rebuilding your reputation.
Amazon Web Services is the biggest example of this. AWS was facing massive server outages. They were also offering a low SLA to their customers. According to their SLA, they were only offering 99.99% of uptime. This might sound like a lot to you, but it is about 50 minutes of downtime every year. Thus, companies that couldn’t afford downtime were looking for better reliable solutions.
SLA payouts
Every customer wants to ensure that they can always access their services and products. Most companies are providing SLA to their customers. This SLA or uptime contracts ensure that you will be responsible for downtime. In case of downtime, you will pay financial remuneration. Most companies are also working with third-party cloud providers. Thus, you might face system downtime due to your providers. Even in this case, you can’t repair your brand image. You need to again work on your brand reputation. Also, you will lose a lot of business opportunities which will lead to revenue loss.
Conclusion
Network and system downtime can impact your entire business. Thus, you should ensure that your network is always up. This can be a difficult task if you don’t have access to a large IT team. However, you can still work with good MSPs. Experienced MSPs like Bleuwire will ensure that your network is always up. In case of downtime, they will help you in recovering your network. They will also constantly monitor your network for vulnerabilities. If you need more information regarding Managed IT services, then you can contact Bleuwire.
Contact us today to learn about Bleuwire™ services and solutions in how we can help your business.
