Downtime is an Obstacle You Need to Avoid

Downtime is easily one of the most prolific reasons small businesses take in less money than they otherwise could, making it an existential threat to many if a certain threshold is met. Making a bad situation worse, there is no shortage of reasons a business may experience downtime. Let’s examine some of these causes to better understand how to minimize this universal issue.

First, We Need to Define Downtime and Examine Some Inciting Incidents

By definition, downtime is any time your technology is rendered unable to function correctly, leading to a disrupted workflow and otherwise slowed or stopped operations.

The breakneck pace that modern business operations are expected to maintain means that any level of interruption or inefficiency is seen as unacceptable. Unfortunately, any downtime that your business experiences could quickly alienate potential customers and clients. As a result, downtime directly puts your business at a competitive disadvantage.

In addition, downtime delivers a one-two punch to your finances. Not only can you not meet your earning potential without the technology that enables it, but you are still obligated to pay the employees who would use the IT in question if it were available.

Of course, depending on the source of the downtime, you may incur some costs as you correct the inciting issue.

So, if we combine the opportunity cost and reputational damage with the cost of paying your employees and solving the problem that led to the downtime, the cost of any downtime incident will likely be inflated… and that’s before we even factor in the lost productivity downtime creates.

Considering this, it is little wonder that an unprepared business could easily have to close its doors for good if a downtime incident is extreme enough.

Downtime Can Also Come from a Lot of Different Places

There are various sources of downtime that today’s businesses, including those in DC Metro, must contend with, including:

• Cybersecurity Threats - Many forms of cyberattack, like ransomware, are designed to create downtime for the impacted business during and after the attack.
• Hardware or Software Failure - As business technology ages, it is increasingly likely to fail or become obsolete, rendering an essential productivity tool useless.
• Human Error - Accidents happen, but the wrong kind of accident—like deleting the wrong file or damaging some critical hardware—can create a devastating downtime event.
• Misconfigured Devices - If a device isn’t set up correctly for a business’ needs, threats are more likely to access the network and stop operations. A misconfigured device is inherently less efficient than one with the right data and settings.
• Natural Disasters - Extreme weather events and such phenomena can have various unfavorable influences on a business. Whether the power goes out or the building itself is damaged, such events often lead to downtime in addition to all the other impacts.

The Moral of the Story: Downtime Needs Mitigation

Modern businesses have access to strategies and technologies that can help minimize—if not eliminate—most of the ill effects of downtime, even though many of its inciting incidents are unpredictable. The organizations of DC Metro, for example, can turn to Washington Works for assistance in implementing numerous protections and resources, such as:

BDR (Backup and Disaster Recovery)
We’ve already established how closely disaster events and downtime are associated, so it stands to reason that having a strategy to mitigate as much of a disaster’s impacts as possible would also help minimize the downtime it causes… protecting both your business and its capability to be productive all at once.

Help Desk Services
A professional help desk, like the one Washington Works provides to our clients, is a resource for your team members to turn to when they need slight assistance with their technology. It allows your in-house IT team to focus on larger projects. If an employee is dealing with downtime, one of our professionals will be on the case.

RMM (Remote Monitoring and Maintenance)
There are warning signs that something is wrong with a device… someone just has to look for them. With our RMM tools, we can identify and resolve problems on your behalf to help eliminate as much downtime as possible. We’ll even take care of updates promptly, making those little interruptions less likely to appear.

If you’re sick of dealing with downtime, contact us to start living without most of it. Call Washington Works at 301-571-5040 to learn more.