IT downtime costs pose a very real problem for businesses in Ireland.
With companies across a wide range of sectors now relying heavily on technology for their daily operations, the repercussions of a brief breakdown in services can be hugely damaging, both from a financial and reputational point of view.
The key to mitigating the risks associated with downtime is understanding not only how to respond if an outage occurs, but also how to minimise the chances of it happening in the first place.
In this article, we discuss the various costs associated with IT downtime and explore its most common causes, while discussing the strategies business owners in Ireland can adopt to protect their organisations in the face of technical issues.
The most common causes of IT downtime
Before examining the costs associated with IT downtime, it’s important to first address the root causes of these issues. Getting to grips with this is crucial to implementing preventative measures.
Cybersecurity breaches
Unfortunately, cyberattacks on businesses, such as malware attacks, ransomware and phishing scams, are increasingly problematic for businesses operating within the digital realm. A staggering 90% of Irish companies believe that their organisation is exposed to cyber risks.
Human error
Despite the abundance of information on how to avoid falling victim to cyber criminals, human error remains the weakest link in the cybersecurity chain. Outages can be caused by a number of missteps, including accidental deletions, misconfigurations or improper use of systems.
Hardware failures and software glitches
Ageing or poorly maintained hardware can lead to unexpected breakdowns, while unpatched software or incompatible applications can cause system crashes.
Natural disasters
Even businesses with the most comprehensive backup and disaster recovery plans in place can experience the effects of downtime when natural weather events like storms or floods damage IT infrastructure and disrupt services.
IT downtime costs: Exploring the true price of system outages
IT downtime isn’t merely an inconvenience; it places a significant burden on businesses across the board, affecting every element of their operations.
IT downtime costs from a financial viewpoint
In monetary terms, every minute of downtime counts.
While unplanned system glitches cost the Global 2000 around $400 billion annually, SMEs are also at risk. Not only is this cohort viewed as more vulnerable because of their limited resources, but they also have valuable data that cybercriminals are waiting in the wings to exploit.
Unfortunately for businesses of this size, the financial blow resulting from prolonged downtime can be devastating, with many unable to continue operating under the strain of significant financial loss.
Other IT downtime costs to consider
The repercussions of IT downtime extend far beyond loss of profits.
From a dip in productivity and reputational damage to customer dissatisfaction and regulatory penalties resulting from data breaches, the ripple effect that occurs following a disruption can be incredibly damaging.
A prime example of the widespread impact a cyber glitch can have is the worldwide outage that followed a flawed update by cybersecurity company CrowdStrike just last year.
The error disrupted services across the globe, leaving people without access to banking or healthcare services. Flights were cancelled in their hundreds, while an estimated two-thirds of GP practices in Northern Ireland were impacted. Overall, the outage affected at least 8.5 million Windows devices globally.
Even businesses that were not active customers of CrowdStrike found themselves in a compromising position because one of their partners or suppliers was using the company’s services.
While each layer of disruption had negative knock-on implications on the businesses involved, CrowdStrike was arguably the most affected, with 29.5% of the company’s market cap stripped away in just over a week.
Irish companies should take this extreme example as a warning of the potential pitfalls of being unprepared in the event of IT downtime. To remain protected, businesses need to implement certain strategies that will minimise the financial costs of an outage, along with the additional consequences.
Strategies to minimise IT downtime costs
In order to mitigate the business risks and financial losses associated with IT downtime, business owners should consider a number of tried-and-tested strategies. These include:
- Developing a disaster recovery plan that will empower them to respond effectively to unexpected events. This plan should be regularly reviewed and amended as necessary to remain aligned with the changing needs of the business and the evolving threat landscape.
- Providing employee training to ensure that teams can confidently navigate systems and technology with the knowledge required to avoid costly errors.
- Adopting robust backup solutions ensures that data can be quickly restored in the event of a failure.
- Implementing continuous monitoring of systems to detect and address issues before they escalate.
- Carrying out routine maintenance checks to ensure hardware and software are functioning optimally.
Partnering with a trusted IT services provider will ensure these strategies are tailored to your unique business needs, resulting in customised solutions that will protect your business from a range of risks.
Minimise IT downtime and costly outages with the help of Calnet IT Solutions
At Calnet IT Solutions, we understand the critical importance of maintaining uninterrupted IT operations. As a complete IT solutions provider, we offer:
- Real-time, people-focused IT support to prevent issues before they impact your business.
- Comprehensive solutions including IT support, managed services, cloud solutions and cybersecurity.
- Certified and recognised expertise, as an ISO 27001 certified and a Microsoft Solutions Partner across Infrastructure, Azure and Modern Work.
- A dedicated team ensuring consistent and dependable service delivery that yields reliable results.
Our managed IT services encompass proactive monitoring, regular maintenance and robust backup solutions to empower your business to remain operational and resilient in the face of potential downtime. Partnering with us means ensuring your IT infrastructure is robust, secure and reliable, allowing you to focus on growing your business.
Contact us today to learn more about our services.
