Why is downtime dangerous? - WeShape

Although digital transformation has a track record of being significantly beneficial for companies, if the tech is not utilised effectively it can do more harm than good. One increasingly common example of this is tech downtime.

Recent research from Uptime Institute’s 2022 Outage Analysis Report found that downtime costs are continually rising since the average $9,000 per minute in 2015:

• Over 60% of outages cost more than $100,000, an increase from 39% in 2019.
• 15% of outages cost more than $1 million, an increase from 11% in 2019.

Companies that experience frequent downtime have 16% higher costs than their less frequent counterparts according to LogicMonitor’s IT Outage Impact Study. Risks of downtime also increase depending on the industry as high risk industries include:

• Manufacturing
• Banking and financial services
• Healthcare
• Government
• Media and communications

Not only does this reap potentially devastating effects to a company’s financial health but it is also harmful for customer trust, brand reputation, internal productivity and employee retention.

Additionally, as insufficient funds is one of the leading reasons startups fail, startups are particularly vulnerable experiencing a tech outage as they do not have the bigger operating margins or reserves to absorb these types of costs.

Identifying why

To prevent the enemy, you need to understand the enemy. So why does downtime occur? The four most common causes of downtime are:

1. Cybersecurity threats and human error
2. Power or internet outages
3. Hardware failure
4. Changes to software, new releases or features

Therefore, reducing downtime should be imperative for business security. But how do organisations actually mitigate these risks?

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Prioritise prevention

Although tech is constantly evolving and improving, downtime is inevitable. Thus, constructing an effective foundation with a good quality technical team is crucial as cybersecurity threats and human error are aggravated by employee knowledge and skills gaps.

Site Reliability Engineers can assist in reducing downtime by making systems more reliable, building measures into the pipeline and delivering it out for long-term scalability.

Find out more about the benefits of Site Reliability Engineering by watching the video below from our consultant Andrew Southall. 

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So, how can WeShape assist with downtime?

• WeShape are partners with UpTime Labs which specialises in training on how to effectively work during, minimise and identify the causes of downtime. 
• We are ISO 27001 certified to ensure our stakeholders’ data is effectively protected. 
• Our on demand consultants are deployable within 7 days for various objectives such as technical training, advisory and technical support when it comes to downtime. All consultants are vetted by our in-house talent team and a strong and reliable statement of work is provided by WeShape
• We have an unparalleled network of top 5% associates to advise, define and implement solutions to your companies’ DevOps and more digital needs.

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To find out how to protect your business from Downtime, book a quick chat with us.