Practically every business in Charlotte, North Carolina experiences downtime due to tech malfunctions. But while not having 100% uptime is normal, experiencing recurring interruptions can adversely affect your organization. Here are the most common ways IT-related dowtimes hinder your business from achieving its potential.
Productivity dips
Because a huge part of your operations — if not every aspect of it — relies on online services and the cloud, server outages will paralyze your staff’s productivity. Your team wouldn’t be able to send emails or access cloud-based apps while the internet is down. And although some apps can work offline, the features in offline mode are limited.
The effects could be worse for companies in the manufacturing industry. Operations would grind to a halt, and the entire production line would shut down. Even when systems get back up and running, there will still be delays to sort out backlogs. Especially for workflows that are part of a supply chain, it will take some time until the optimal work pace is achieved again.
Lost revenue
Customers trust businesses to deliver services and goods when they need them. If your company can’t meet clients’ needs and you miss deadlines because of IT breakdowns, you will lose sales.
Customers also expect you to respond to their queries immediately. If you can’t answer their questions because your internet connection is down, or if you can’t provide accurate information because your systems aren’t updated, clients’ confidence in your business will wane. They may turn to a competitor that offers better customer service.
What’s more, if your website doesn’t load within two seconds, or within the threshold for eCommerce website acceptability, your potential customers might simply close your page and explore other options. You might lose leads and opportunities to make a sale.
Reputational damage
Your company will also gain a reputation for being unresponsive and unreliable due to extended downtimes that prevent you from addressing your clients’ concerns.
This unpleasant image will not only drive potential customers away, but it may also dissuade customers from doing repeat business with you. Once existing customers prove that the terrible business reviews are true, they will most likely take their money elsewhere.
Piled up costs
Downtimes might halt your workflows, but not your operating costs. While you’re waiting for network availability, costs such as your rent, utility bills, employees’ salaries, and others still need to be paid even if there’s no meaningful work getting done. And when your operating costs outweigh your revenues, your bottom line takes a hit.
Data loss
Server outages can cause data loss, especially if you don’t regularly back up your data. Files or apps may also get corrupted, creating security loopholes that can be exploited by cybercriminals. On top of this, your operations may face bottlenecks if you can’t recover critical data immediately.
Losing data, or even just momentarily losing access to it, can cause panic among all your stakeholders. Not only will data loss hurt your company’s credibility, but it may also have legal or noncompliance repercussions.
How can you prevent IT-related downtime?
Partnering with a reliable managed IT services provider like SpectrumWise can ensure maximum uptime. We offer seven layers of security, which include proactively monitoring your systems to catch issues that can lead to downtime. We also prevent data loss by using state-of-the-art encryption techniques, automated backup solutions, and off-site data replication.
Another way to avoid or shorten downtime is by having a strategic business continuity plan (BCP) that will help you deal with any kind of disaster, be it tech-related or otherwise. When the worst happens, your BCP can guide you on what steps to undertake during and after an emergency.
System downtime has short- and long-term impacts on a company’s operations, reputation, and revenue. Keep your business safe from recurring tech trouble and unplanned outages by partnering with SpectrumWise. Talk to our IT experts today.
