Business is all about making the most of the time that you have available to you, and while some employees are great at doing such a thing, others might have silent roadblocks that eat up minutes or potentially even hours of their days. Yes, downtime is a very real threat for businesses, and while some employers are more concerned with nickel-and-diming employees for the short amounts of time they spend in between tasks, real true downtime is much greater of an issue.
What is Downtime?
Downtime is a major business killer, and while there are some culprits that are easier to pinpoint than others, you might be surprised by how many issues can cause downtime. Downtime is any situation where your organization’s operations cannot be sustained. This might include problems like the Internet going down, your technology not working correctly, your employees not having access to resources, etc. In other words, downtime happens whenever your business cannot perform like it is supposed to, which translates to wasted time and, consequently, wasted money.
Here are some ways you can keep downtime from breaking the bank (and your business).
Plan for the Worst
You absolutely need to prioritize business continuity, so planning to experience at least some downtime at some point in the future can help you be prepared to handle it. This includes implementing a data backup and disaster recovery system that can minimize downtime. You should also consider how long it takes your organization to get back to an acceptable level of operations. Basically, you are not budgeting for perfect uptime, you are budgeting for an acceptable level of downtime, thereby preventing it from catching you off-guard.
Streamline Operations
If your employees do not know or understand what is expected of them, they will not be as optimal with their time management as can be. Therefore, there is some merit to streamlining operations as a method to cut down on downtime. For example, an employee might waste time trying to find a file because they don’t know where it is located, or maybe they do not know the process for a specific task. Making these things easier for your employees is a great way to help them take the guesswork out of their day-to-day tasks and responsibilities.
Take Care of Your Technology
If you find yourself making a ton of progress on a project only to be stonewalled by a sudden downtime event, then you know the importance of maintaining your software and hardware solutions. Frequent small issues can become serious problems if left unchecked. Making sure that you are administering patches and security updates on a regular basis can minimize the chances of them leading to major downtime-causing events.
At North Central Technologies, we pride ourselves in helping our clients not only reduce downtime, but avoid it entirely. To learn more about how we can equip your business with proactive IT solutions designed to mitigate downtime, reach out to us at 978-798-6805.
