IT infrastructure is a vital business asset in today’s increasingly data-driven world. In fact, most modern businesses revolve entirely around digital systems such as websites, software applications, telephony, data networks, computers, and the internet. Unfortunately, all IT systems are susceptible to failure. When your hardware, software or network crashes unexpectedly, it can severely affect or halt ongoing business operations. In some extreme cases, IT downtime can cause companies to go out of business.
Understanding the challenges
According to FEMA, a majority of small and medium-sized businesses are not adequately prepared to prevent or recover from disasters such as IT outages. Why the care-free attitude towards IT failure, despite there being so many threats such as cyber-attacks, data breaches, outdated software and hardware, natural disasters and human error?
Many business owners do not fully understand the implications of losing data or other digital resources. Some are so confident in their systems’ health and performance that they feel invulnerable to IT downtime. Here are some other reasons:
- Many small organizations think they are immune to security threats, unaware that about
70 percent of cyber-attacks are targeted at SMEs. Yet, these attacks cost an average of $38,000. - Most businesses respond to threats after the damage is done instead of taking a more proactive approach to ensure the health and security of their digital assets.
- Some entrepreneurs do not fully appreciate the value of their IT resources and what it would mean financially and business-wise if something happened to them.
The impact of IT downtime
The most obvious consequence of an e-commerce website or other enterprise IT facility going down is financial loss. According to a 2019 survey, the average cost of enterprise server downtime ranges between $300,000 to $400,000 per hour. But these are just estimates, the real cost of downtime depends on its cause, nature, scope, period, and recovery requirements.
The bottom-line cost of downtime sums up lost productivity, time and revenue, and also recovery costs – including legal fees, SLA penalties, and repair charges. For instance, a single hacking attempt can completely ruin your server environment, data systems, user accounts, and enterprise material. Some of these financial losses are not directly quantifiable.
Want to see how much IT downtime could end up costing you? This downtime calculator can help you estimate the economic impact of an outage.
Business disruption
Several minutes of service unavailability can lead to unfulfilled orders and deliveries, unmet deadlines, and massive backlogs. You may also lose business opportunities and leads when your e-commerce services are down.
Damaged reputation
Many disgruntled customers, business associates, and even employees can vent their frustrations publicly following an IT outage. If word of a lengthy downtime spreads far enough, it could tarnish your brand’s image.
Legal implications
A downtime scenario resulting in theft, loss, or exposure of sensitive data may attract legal action depending on the nature and severity of the situation. Clients could also file for breach of contract if an outage somehow violates your B2B agreements.
Ensure your network systems, data centers, workstations, and websites are secure and healthy to eliminate any downtime risk. Do not wait until something goes wrong to take action because then it will be too late.
With a Covergine’s maintenance and support, we’ll make sure your website is working for you 24/7 . We will take care of scheduled backups, security monitoring, and performance optimization.
