It’s a well-known fact that downtime is dangerous and can cost your business thousands of dollars in just a few minutes. But did you know that downtime can cost your business in other ways as well? From unhappy customers to frustrated employees, not to mention losing labor and sales, the overall cost to a business can be staggering.
Here are the biggest ways that downtime results in more consequences than just monetary loss:
Downtime can cause loss in productivity
There’s nothing worse than working at a steady pace and suddenly facing an unexpected disruption due to IT downtime. Whether it’s a system crash, loss of internet or inability to access core systems, loss in productivity is one of the biggest consequences businesses face from downtime – aside from the out-of-pocket expenses associated with restoring the tech needed to get your business back up and running.
Loss of productivity isn’t always an immediate result of arising technology issues. For example, a disruption can result in loss of morale and loss of focus – both of which can ultimately result in loss of productivity and costly errors. Additionally, loss in morale can eventually lead to turnover in your organization.
It’s far-fetched to believe that loss in productivity equates to short period of interruption, for which employees can immediately bounce back from. For many workers, a single distraction or interruption can cause a domino effect that lasts longer than the actual downtime.
Downtime can cause loss in critical data
Is your business humming along without regularly scheduled backups and maintenance? If so, you run the risk of losing critical business data and information. A single server crash or security breach to your systems can leave you in panic and in trouble. Loss of critical data can bring your business to a screeching halt and wondering, now what?
If customer information has been stolen during a security breach, you may need to notify customers of what has occurred. Not only does this divert time and effort away from your business, it also takes increased time and effort to obtain this information again.
Downtime can result in loss of trust from customers and stakeholders
Does your IT issue cause your customers to experience downtime or loss of business and productivity as well? A reputation for being unreliable can develop, leading to loss of trust from customers and potentially loss of business. Brand loyalty is important for businesses in this day and age. Businesses can lose customer and stakeholder trust from IT issues and downtime, which can result in loss of business or a bad reputation, both of which have exponential effects, such as inhibiting growth and success in the future.
Don’t let your business and employees become accustomed to IT issues or disruptions. You need reliable systems and support to mitigate the issues that can cost your business significant loss in the long-run. We can provide your business with the solutions to solve your current and future needs and help you minimize downtime now and in the future.