If you’ve got the impression that production downtime is on the rise lately, you aren’t off the mark. A recent annual report from the Ponemon Institute revealed that downtime is increasing across all industries while the cost for each unexpected outage averages nearly $9000 per minute.
What, then, is the proper course of action should a network disruption arise? It’s a necessary question to ask. Most businesses fail at responding effectively to cyber events that lead to downtime. Even more importantly, since a majority of network downtime is entirely preventable in the first place, how do business owners halt production stoppages before they even occur?
Network downtime explained
System malfunctions resulting in work stoppages that disrupt normal operational flow dictate and define all the terms and conditions implied by network downtime. Let’s assume you have a room of six employees, and all of them are dependent upon your company network to complete their daily tasks. When the network stops working, and none of them can get their jobs done, this constitutes downtime.
Downtime instigates itself through a diversity of sources. It can start with a single application, an infected computer, one of your company servers, or the entire network. Senior analysts at PCH Technologies explain that downtime can result in the system being offline temporarily. Or, alternately, it occurs after a more catastrophic event such as an external cybersecurity attack. In either case, being operationally incapacitated for any length of time can you cost your business a considerable sum of money.
How does a network failure happen?
Most network failures trigger by way of human error. If a member of your IT department fails to upgrade the server to meet data requirements, doesn’t adhere to the regular schedule of software updates, or neglects to add security patches, the network is prone to fail. Inevitably, these omissions lead to needless downtime, which puts your company at risk.
Outdated equipment, likewise, is a significant contributor to downtime. Old computers and network devices are not just slow and inefficient, they’re frequently the cause of network failures. Devices with some age behind them tend to fail much faster than newer equipment. And when they do stop working, the damage is usually irreparable. If the equipment is fixable, the cost to cure usually exceeds the price of upgrading to new equipment. The best practice is to upgrade your tech before it fails you on-site. This is one sure way to avoid unnecessary employee downtime.
Preventing downtime before its starts
Develop a business continuity plan
A solid disaster recovery plan is the key to preventing costly downtime. A coherent business continuity strategy is by far the best asset to help protect your operation against an unexpected outage. Your business continuity plan (BCP) should outline all of the critical components of your IT infrastructure necessary to keep your business running uninterrupted.
If operations do grind to halt, your BCP must guide the situational decision-making process to restart your business along with any steps required to reconfigure the company network. The document should identify all key staff and ensure that each understands their roles in getting production back online as quickly as possible.
Proactive network monitoring
Carefully surveilling your network for irregularities should never be underestimated, particularly if you aim to prevent downtime. Network monitoring can be an arduous task in itself. Many businesses elect to hire managed IT providers or a reputable managed computer service company to facilitate the task. Small business computer support has seen an exponential rise in popularity, and there are several attractive options to choose from.
A managed IT service can monitor your network closely, 24/7/365, which dramatically improves the chances of capturing an anomaly on the network early, before it leads to network downtime. Partnering with a small business computer support company ensures that a team of experts is always looking at your network, and can relay any issues to the appropriate staff before they escalate.
Contract a managed IT an computer service company
Investing in a managed IT service helps prevent costly downtime in several ways. When you opt for a managed router service, a team of small business computer support professionals handles all the provisioning, configuration, change management, and monitoring. Most business owners report fewer issues with downtime after realizing the benefits of a managed router service.
As IT procedures are increasingly specialized, managed IT offers peace of mind knowing your digital infrastructure stays in the hands of a skilled expert around the clock, 24-hours a day. They will handle all your complex IT issues while protecting your business from cybersecurity threats. Moreover, you can rest assured that your software is regularly updated and that your network receives all the necessary patches.
PCH Technologies for managed IT solutions
Curious to learn more about how managed IT providers can minimize expensive downtime? Call PCH Technologies at (856) 754-7500 to connect with an expert Client Relations Specialist today.