Successful businesses are aware of the importance of an active online presence. In such a scenario, any downtime can prove catastrophic and lead to huge losses. If you are running a business in Houston and want to protect your IT systems from the risk of downtime, you don’t need to create your own IT team. You can hire IT Cloud Global, the top provider of managed IT support services in Houston, to oversee your IT system security and prevent downtime.
What is Downtime?
Downtime is the time duration when your IT system stops working and is not available. This unoperational time of your IT system can lead to high losses and hamper your credibility among your target audience and customers.
This downtime may be the result of:
- Hardware failure,
- Human error like misconfigurations, outdated software,
- Shutdown due to maintenance,
- Other environmental disasters,
- Cybersecurity threats like malware, ransomware, phishing, etc.
You can calculate how much downtime can cost you using a simple formula.
The Damage Downtime Can Cause
Financial Losses
- If your system is down, you won’t be able to process transactions, which can lead to immediate revenue loss.
- To compensate for the downtime, you’ll need additional resources like paying overtime to your staff or hiring emergency repair services.
- If your business needs to comply with specific requirements (like in healthcare), then downtime can lead to fines or penalties.
Negative Customer Experience
- If your customers face frequent downtime, they can lose trust in your services and company.
- In addition to losing trust, they can abandon your services because of dissatisfaction.
- Customers with bad experiences share it through negative reviews, which can damage your reputation.
Reduced Employee Productivity
- Downtime affects the work as employees are not able to do their tasks. This leads to delay and lack of productivity.
- With regular downtime, your employees may get frustrated, which can affect your turnover rates.
- systems are not working properly. It can lead to deadlines or falling behind your schedule, which can then affect your relationship with your clients.
Data and Security Risks
- You risk losing important data if the downtime is caused by cyberattacks or hardware failure.
- When your systems are recovering from downtime or facing downtime, they are more vulnerable to cyberattack.
- If there are data breaches or losses during downtime, it can lead to legal consequences because of the non-compliance with the regulation.
How to Calculate the Cost of Downtime?
A Gartner study found that downtime costs $5,600 per minute on average. On the other hand, the Ponemon Institute estimates that downtime costs about twice as much, or $9,000 per minute, on average. For small and medium-sized businesses, a downtime is expected to cost between $137 and $427 per minute.
The formula to calculate the cost of downtime is:
Minutes of Downtime x Cost-per-minute
With the help of this formula, you can find out how much of your revenue you can lose during downtime.
How You Can Avoid Downtimes with IT Cloud Global
The best way to avoid downtime is to use managed IT support services. At IT Cloud Global, we ensure businesses can function at their best without fearing downtime.
Proactive Monitoring and Prevention
Our managed IT support services in Houston keep an eye on your IT systems 24/7 to make sure we can spot any potential threats and take prompt action. To provide you with system stability and performance, we use automation and artificial intelligence (AI), which are highly effective at identifying such problems and help in preventing human error.
Remote Monitoring in Real Time
With the help of our real-time diagnostics and maintenance, we can effectively address IT issues remotely in real time. Remote monitoring helps our technical experts solve such issues without the need to be present in the office.
Risk Assessment
Regular risk assessments are essential to find out threats and vulnerabilities that may be present in your IT system. Regular assessment helps us detect and resolve any risk that may disrupt your operations.
Vulnerability and Penetration Testing
To ensure that your IT systems are secure, we scan them for any vulnerability, like weak passwords or outdated software. They are quickly identified and fixed, so you don’t have to face downtime. Penetration testing involves simulating a cyberattack and seeing if there are any weaknesses in your system’s security. This is a proactive approach that strengthens your security system.
Endpoint protection.
Now that Bring Your Own Device policies are being introduced, it’s more important than ever to secure end points like smartphones, laptops, and tablets. Our managed IT services protect all of these devices and reduce the risk of downtime. We also make use of firewalls and encryption to protect your data.
What Our Clients Say?
Here’s what our clients have to say about our services:
“I took my computer to Ken in this business and asked him to solve a battery issue. He solves the battery issue and convince me to also install a digital hard drive. To say I was satisfied with his work and especially his recommendation is an understatement – he gave me back a computer that runs better than it did when new. I recommend his business, his ethics and his customer orientation to anyone who sees this message!”
“I found Ken’s business through Google and was glad I did. Like most people, my computer problems happen right before important events. I went to Ken when my camera driver stopped working before a job interview. He was so kind and worked hard to fix it with overnight turnaround. I highly recommend him to anyone who needs an honest computer expert with competitive pricing.”
Get the Best Managed IT Support Services in Houston
Our managed IT support services in Houston have been designed to help businesses continue their operation without delays. Contact IT Cloud Global and protect your IT systems against the constant threats that modern businesses face.