What Does Downtime Mean for Your Business?

Two IT technicians having difficulty repairing IT system in a server room - a concept of business downtime.

Your IT system could be the main culprit behind your frequent downtime.

Many business dictionaries agree on the definition of downtime to mean the period in which your equipment, machinery, or workforce is not working. The reasons why you experience it can range from maintenance to technical failure.

This definition of downtime can apply to mainly labor-intensive industries such as construction, distribution, or manufacturing. However, it can also apply to the systems at the heart of your business operations.

Your IT system could be the main culprit behind your frequent downtime. How does this happen? Let’s take a look.

 

Hardware Failure

Wear and tear are inevitable forces when it comes to moving parts of any equipment or machinery. It is not a stretch to imagine that those parts are going to fail at one point or another. This is why routine maintenance is important to keep your equipment in good working order.

Sometimes, though, some of these components can experience a catastrophic failure. Your IT system, which has been monitoring operations all this time, could force your entire operation to shut down. This is to prevent any further damage from destroying your hard work.

The result is unplanned downtime.

 

Software Updates

You’ve probably heard of this statement before, whenever the likes of Microsoft release a new Windows version or major update; let the guinea pigs test out the new software updates before upgrading your own. The purpose is to suss out whether there are bugs that can disrupt your operations or experience.

You may not have that luxury when it comes to enterprise and industrial software. Even with numerous test runs before installation, some bugs may appear during actual operations. The bugs can have various effects on your operations, from silly mistakes and slowing down operations to downright causing havoc.

 

Employee Error

Most modern systems have an IT structure baked into them. It is responsible for the control and monitoring of the myriad components that make it up. While this kind of automation has been important in terms of automating and streamlining production processes, it still needs human input now and then.

That’s where the major weakness lies; with the operator. It is not uncommon to have an employee enter the wrong information into the controls. Depending on the operation parameters, the mistake the worker makes could range from a minor inconvenience to an expensive breakdown both in time and money.

 

Internet Outages

The IT systems running your operations are superb. The level of convenience they offer your company is unparalleled, and frankly, you wouldn’t have it any other way. The best part is, you can monitor operations over the internet, and even make changes when needed.

An internet outage occurring at the wrong time can mean loss of access to information crucial to the running of your operations. Not only does this affect output, but it can also lead to downtime when the system is waiting for input from you.

 

You Don’t Have to Suffer Downtime.

Some things can inevitably go wrong from time to time. However, how quickly you get back up is a great determinant of success. Not only is downtime a loss of productivity, but it also means you have less output for the market. It ultimately ends up impacting your company’s bottom line.

What you require is a team of qualified and experienced experts monitoring your IT systems, and being proactive to prevent your systems from experiencing downtime. That is where we at SystemsNet come into play.

We have designed packages that can suit various small and medium enterprises such as yours. Are you interested in such a program, but have no idea where to begin? Get in touch with us. We’d love to help you succeed.

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