Every year in Europe, 552 man hours are lost as a result of issues with IT and technology. Reportedly, this downtime results in a 37% drop in revenue generation, as the critical tools for business success are made unavailable.
It’s no secret that time is money in business, so naturally combatting business downtime is high on the list of priorities for many business owners. With our growing technological dependence, one minor misconfiguration or full-scale system failure can lead to significantly reduced productivity — or worse still, complete business shutdown.
The impact of business downtime varies across sectors, as it is influenced by a number of factors. These include the number of staff affected, the impact on productivity, how long the downtime lasts for and the cost per employee per hour. Let’s look at manufacturing as an example.
On average in the UK, a typical manufacturer takes home £29,419 per year — or £15.32 per hour, based on a 40-hour week. Should downtime strike the factory floor, preventing 50 members of staff from doing 50% of their job for five hours, the business would face a loss of £1,915 for just one incident.
Of course, as the scale and the severity of the downtime increases, so does the impact and potential revenue loss it can have. So how do you combat business downtime? ERP software provider Datawright discusses how to prevent business downtime:
Preventing business downtime
Studies have been carried out to examine the most common causes of business downtime. Hardware and software failure, as well as human error, the weather, natural disasters and power cuts all make the list — so how do you tackle the most frequent problems?
Software failure
Often when systems fail, it’s due to software. Rectifying this issue could be as simple as keeping your software up-to-date. Make sure you install all available updates for your software to ensure it can continue performing optimally, minimising the risk of failure.
Technology is fast-paced and outdated systems can pose a risk to your business. As cyber threats continue to evolve and materialise, older systems that may not have the required security capacity become obvious targets. Review your software at timely intervals to ensure it remains fit for purpose and relevant.
Hardware failure
It is common for hardware to fall victim to general wear and tear, which can often lead to failure. Some industries will experience this more than others — for example, in manufacturing, machines and presses will require regular maintenance to ensure they remain functional and efficient.
Carry out regular maintenance to ensure you are fully aware of the condition your machinery is in. Doing so can help prevent further issues from arising.
Staff training
There is no way of completely eradicating human error from your business, but implementing staff training can help reduce the chances of it occurring. Ensure that all employees are fully aware how to use the technology and software they require for their role to prevent against issues like this from arising.
Put a plan in place
Of course, it’s impossible to predict exactly what will cause business downtime before it actually happens. However, by understanding the key causes we have discussed, you can not only prevent it from happening but also plan for how you’ll react should it impact your business.
If downtime does hit your business, your priority is no longer preventing it from happening — rather, it shifts to getting your operations back up and running as quickly as you possibly can. All too often, business owners haven’t thought this far ahead — triggering a desperate scramble by staff to try and plug the problem with a quick fix as soon as they possibly can.
The longer an issue is present, the more it could potentially cost your business, as we have discussed. Therefore, it’s in an employer’s best interest to consider the most likely causes of downtime for their business and how they would react to restore their business operations should this type of issue occur.
Not every issue you face will follow exactly as expected in your plan, yet even just having a brief idea of what the next steps should be will give staff guidance should an incident occur. Who knows — this type of preparation could be crucial in reducing business losses and returning your productivity levels back to normal.
Take the time to put the proper precautions in place now and minimise the huge impact business downtime can have on your company in the future.