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How to Protect Your Business from Downtime

1. Run Backups on Your Data 
2. Have a Disaster Recovery Plan
3. Be Consistent on Security Updates
4. Train Your Employees
5. Use Reliable Technology Tools
6. Utilize a Trusted IT Provider

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How Much Does Downtime Cost Your Business?

Most companies are confident about their IT structure, and unfortunately, take the matter of downtime very lightly. Did you know that 82% of companies have faced unplanned downtime in the past few years, losing millions of dollars?

As a matter of fact, it takes around 4-5 hours on average to fix the issue underlying the downtime. This amount of time is good enough for any company to go into loss. Just think about it, you're working on a project worth thousands of dollars, when suddenly your servers come to a halt and everything freezes. You don’t have any backups, you can’t retrieve your important files. What are you going to do?

Maybe your computer crashes, the internet goes down, or your most important program stops working. This is the nightmare of downtime, and for businesses, it can be a major concern.

What is downtime?

Downtime is a period of time when your business operations are interrupted due to your systems being unavailable. This can be planned event, like scheduled maintenance, or it can be completely unexpected, like a power outage.

Downtime Is Bad News For Your Business

Perhaps the worst part about downtime are the costs that come with it. Downtime can be extremely expensive for any company. A recent study by IBM found that a whopping 44% of businesses reported losing over $1 million per hour during downtime. That's a serious blow to any company's bottom line.

Even planned downtime can cost you. While you might schedule maintenance for off-peak hours, there's still a chance of lost productivity and revenue. Some studies show businesses can lose up to $5.6 million annually due to planned downtime.

The cost of downtime varies dramatically by industry. Retail and e-commerce can lose thousands every minute during peak hours, while manufacturing firms risk halted production lines. Healthcare organizations may face compliance risks in addition to lost productivity.

The Causes of Downtime

Human Error

These are mistakes done intentionally or unintentionally by humans (employee, customer, user). For example, you accidentally delete a file that wasn’t backed up by the system or clicked on a suspicious link that had malware. These mistakes can easily happen in the workplace if employees are not properly educated, leading to unfortunate downtime. In fact, Uptime Institute reports that human error is responsible for nearly 40% of major outages!

Technology Glitches

Sometimes, it's not even our fault. The technology we use can be at fault or dysfunction. Hardware and software can malfunction, especially if they're outdated. If your server crashes in the middle of a busy sales day, you will have to bear that loss!

Cybersecurity Threats

As we all know, hackers are always looking for ways to exploit weaknesses in our business's systems, especially in this age of AI. A ransomware cyberattack can quickly lock you out of your critical data and bring your business to a standstill.

Natural Disasters

You can't ignore nature when it comes to downtime. Nature can be very unpredictable, with extreme floods, hurricanes, and earthquakes posing a physical threat to your business. These disasters can cause power outages and irreversible damage to your technology infrastructure.

How Do I Protect My Business From Downtime?

Proactively preparing your business's technology against the threat of downtime is the #1 strategy to staying safe and secure. Here's a checklist of proactive downtime prevention strategies you can start following right away:

1. Run Backups on Your Data

Regular backups protect your business from data loss due to system failures, cyberattacks, or disasters. With up-to-date backups, you can restore your systems quickly, minimizing downtime and ensuring business continuity. It’s a simple but powerful way to guard against the risk of losing critical business information.

An easy way to understand the strategies behind backing up your data is through the 3-2-1 backup rule:

3-2-1 Backup Rule

1. Always have at least 3 copies of your company's data

2. Store those copies on 2 different storage media
(This can include internal hard drives, external hard drives, removable storage drives, or a cloud backup environment)

3. Store 1 of those copies through an offsite storage option
Need to get started? Now is the best time. Find the best option for your business's data.

2. Have a Disaster Recovery Plan

Having a disaster recovery plan means you're prepared for any unexpected IT emergency. This plan involves strategies to recover lost data and resume business operations quickly, minimizing the impact of downtime. While it's focused on your business's overall recovery, it's also about maintaining control during chaos, ensuring your business can withstand and recover from disruptions smoothly.

3. Be Consistent on Security Updates

The best way to stay protected is to prevent security threats instead of react to them. Regularly updating your systems ensures that security vulnerabilities are addressed before they can be exploited by cyberattacks, which are a common cause of downtime. By keeping your computers, programs, software, and apps updated, you fortify your defenses against potential threats, keeping your operations smooth and secure.

4. Train Your Employees

Like we mentioned earlier, human error is the cause of 40% of outages. Training your employees on IT best practices and cybersecurity awareness reduces the risk of human errors that can lead to serious downtime. Knowledgeable employees are your first line of defense. They are capable of identifying and mitigating risks before they escalate into serious issues.

Don't know where to start? Our free "4 Ways to Improve Your Cybersecurity Today" guide is a great way to get your team on the right track. The simplicity of the guide allows you to be able to implement today's cybersecurity best-practices right away.

5. Use Reliable Technology Tools

Investing in reliable technology tools means less unexpected breakdowns and maintenance issues. High-quality, well-supported tools and software not only perform better but are less likely to fail, ensuring your operations run smoothly without unexpected interruptions. Downtime monitoring tools can alert your team in real time when a system goes down, helping you react quickly and reduce the overall impact.

6. Utilize a Trusted IT Provider

Don't risk doing it all alone. A trusted IT provider offers expert guidance and proactive management of your IT infrastructure. They can anticipate and resolve issues before they cause downtime, help with rapid recovery if downtime occurs, and advise on the best practices and tools that keep your systems running efficiently.

In addition to technical solutions, some businesses also explore downtime insurance (also known as business interruption insurance) as a financial protection to offset unexpected losses.

Final Thoughts

If you're wanting to avoid your system going down and disrupting your business operations, you need to make decisions beforehand. Starting now will allow you to protect your business from costly disruptions and ensure you're always ready to serve your customers.


Be proactive and connect with one of our experts today. We specialize in serving businesses who are looking to use their IT & technology as a tool for growth and improved efficiency. We'll help you develop a proactive plan to prevent downtime and keep your business running at peak performance.