IT downtime has a lot of hidden costs. They aren’t always obvious because they depend on a lot of factors. Thus, it’s harder for businesses to measure exact numbers. Luckily, managed services can help you escape revenue-killing downtime.
First, you need to know what these IT outages can cost you.
IT downtime factors
The cost of IT downtime averages around $300,000 per hour. But the cost varies widely. In fact, totals range from $10,000 to $5 million or more. For a more precise estimate of losses, you have to consider the following:
- Duration of the downtime.
- Industry in which it occurred (e.g., banking).
- Number of people affected.
- Time of day when it occurred (e.g., peak traffic).
Productivity losses abound
Potential profit isn’t the only thing lost with downtime, however. There are also costs that don’t easily show themselves in a dollar form.
For example, when there’s a network failure, it affects your staff’s productivity levels. Some of their projects might have to be pushed back. Above all, missed deadlines cause customer discontent and product delays.
Plus, it takes about 23 minutes to refocus after an interruption. The company itself might also have to spend time dealing with the all-around confusion. This will likely negatively impact the customer’s point of view.
Don’t forget about recovery costs
After a downtime, there are also costs for getting your system back up. These costs might even include repairs and parts replacement. You might also need to pay for employee overtime to catch up with the lost work and deadlines.
Worse yet, the downtime can cause disruptions in supply chains that aren’t easily fixable.
How to avoid downtime with managed services companies
An important step in avoiding outages is to know what causes them. For the most part, IT outages occur because of:
- Equipment failure.
- Human error.
- Lack of system security.
The good news? Managed services companies can address these problem areas through:
- Employee training.
- Equipment maintenance.
- Lifecycle management.
- Cybersecurity protection.
Indeed, the best way to prevent downtime is to prepare for it. Luckily, by enlisting the help of a managed services provider, you can prep your company to face any potential downtime threat.
With the help of your provider, create a plan to determine how you would handle a typical downtime event. Complete the proper training and get the necessary tools and technology to support your proactivity. Then whenever downtime occurs, you’re prepared to keep your employees productive, your costs low and your customers happy.
Managed services can help
There are a lot of hidden costs of IT outages that impact productivity. They present serious problems for your business. So, finding a trusted partner to help you prevent downtime saves not only money but also your reputation in the long-term.
SecureTech is a managed services provider in San Antonio, TX. We can help you prevent IT downtime and its costs. We offer preventative maintenance, cybersecurity solutions, systems monitoring and more to keep your business up and running. Contact us today to learn more about how we can increase your ROI.