Prevention is better than cure, obviously.
Having any level of downtime in any organisation can lead to some serious problems – and downtime can be due to anything, from a power outage to a loss of internet connection – if an application breaks, a cyber-attack happens, or even a natural disaster or fire…
59% of the top FTSE 500 companies experience a minimum of 1.6 hours of downtime per week*
Let’s put that into perspective. The average UK FTSE 500 company has 10,000 employees (or more) who are paid an average of £56 per hour, including benefits. Just the labour component of downtime costs alone, for such a company, would be £896,000 per week.
That’s a very big number…so avoiding preventable downtime is quite simply a no-brainer.
Want to know what downtime could cost your business?
Use our online calculator today – you may be surprised.
Work-out the cost to your business
What you must do today to prevent downtime:
Mitigate against a catastrophe by taking preventative steps:
1. Have someone in your business responsible for disaster recovery. Someone who can plan and liaise internally and externally (if need be) to best prevent data loss and downtime if the unspeakable happens…
2. Don’t keep all of your eggs in one basket. Ensure that you don’t only have on-site back-up. Have an off-site solution – ideally, you must have an externally stored back-up of everything and ideally this should be stored in the proverbial ‘cloud’.
3. Keep your IT kit reliable. Ensure that you upgrade your computer software and apply security patches regularly. This includes devices that connect to your network remotely. Do not over-look periphery and guest devices – these could be your weakest link without you knowing about it.
4. Ensure that all of your machines have anti-virus software installed. Make sure your cyber security software is up-to-date and working correctly. Limit admin access to ensure that your users cannot turn-off cyber security or install dubious software.
5. Monitor, monitor and monitor again. Know what is happening on your network. Both with regard to hardware, software and security updates. Ensure that your firewall is secure and set-up properly and ensure that your businesses website is secure and not open to security breaches.
Unexpected disasters could have a massive effect on your business – and inadequate prevention can leave your business vulnerable and open to a significant loss of revenue. But the right steps, taken today, can help mitigate these effects and help eliminate valuable downtime.
For help and support with disaster recovery and business continuity, talk with claireLOGIC today.
* Dunn & Bradstreet 2018 Managers survey.
