Downtime and its business impact
No business wants to hear the phrase “downtime,” but it’s a reality in today’s modern environment. Downtime involves the loss of services, in part or whole. When it occurs, cost and damage soon follow.
Downtime is the result of unforeseen service interruptions, caused by malware or natural disaster. Obviously, it’s never intended. In the best-case scenario, downtime is a short period in which IT professionals resolve the issue. Unfortunately, this is 2020, so “best case scenario” isn’t exactly the motto of the year.
What are the consequences of downtime?
You get the idea. Downtime is bad and equates to the loss of services. Furthermore, it results in financial damages. These damages accrue due to some of the following reasons:
- Staff are no longer productive, and if they operate in a sales environment, can no longer generate revenue
- Partial or complete communication loss (including voice, email, and messaging)
- Critical processes will halt
- Physical damage to devices requiring replacements
- Restoration costs
- Brand damage as a result of customer dissatisfaction
- Federal regulatory penalties, if applicable (such as failing to comply with HIPAA)
The mentioned examples add up, and depending on the capital resources of a business, is enough to topple them completely. Worse yet, the size of a business doesn’t thwart attackers. Malicious parties don’t discriminate and find smaller companies just as valuable.
According to the National Small Business Association, at least 44 percent of responders reported a form of cyberattack.
Even with backups like insurance provisions, there’s no guarantee a business will survive downtime caused by cyberattacks, disasters, or unforeseen problems.
What can I do to protect my business?
First, it’s important to understand that disaster in some capacity will occur. There aren’t enough cybersecurity strategies in place to thwart an attack, nor does the technology exist to fully protect a network. That doesn’t mean you need to stress, but adopting a reasonable policy of expectations is the first step in better protecting your network and company.
But, even with the best intentions, smaller organizations severely lack the financial capital and expertise to guard against every disaster imaginable. Despite it, the effort is worth it. Why? Consider the following:
- Without protection, a company could see as much as $100,000 in annual damages due to downtime
- A BDR (backup disaster recovery) plan can help your company before insurance is implemented
- Loss of property and hardware like servers, desktops, and mobile platforms
Sounds like a nightmare scenario, and it can be without the right precautions and services. If you lack the necessary expert IT staff and/or financial resources, though, all is not lost. There are remedies available, in form of an MSP.
The managed service provider looks to provide the various services and IT infrastructure needed for both smooth operations and downtime occurrences. The MSP can resolve downtime events with the following methods:
- Continuity support for critical IT operations
- BDR plans and recovery options such as through data centers and cloud
- Cloud services to provide virtualized options, SaaS, and infrastructure
- Long term tech road-mapping tailored to a company’s specific needs
Essentially, the MSP provides a catch-all solution system for a business in need, regardless of size.
If you’d like additional information about MSP services, you can contact Bytagig today.
