Network downtime will happen to every organization at some point. The main goal for business owners is to minimize it as much as possible since every minute of downtime equates to lost money and productivity. Diagnosing the cause of downtime is critical so you can pinpoint the issue and work to solve it promptly. Working with a Managed Service Provider is valuable as well since they can not only diagnose and fix the issue, but sometimes do it so quickly in which you won’t even experience downtime. These are some of the most common reasons why companies experience network downtime.
Hardware or Software Failures
There’s no such thing as a piece of equipment that’s designed to last forever. Servers that have outlasted their expected life expectancy are more vulnerable to breaking down and can cause serious issues if you aren’t proactive about it. Software failures can also be significant, but a little more tricky to diagnose. Your managed service provider should keep both your hardware and software up-to-date to significantly reduce your chances of network downtime.
Operating With Old Equipment and Applications
Software updates are necessary no matter how old your equipment and applications are. But as your equipment gets older, these updates take more of a toll on it. Some IT personnel make the mistake of thinking the software update is the root of the issue that caused servers to crash, but the reality is it may be the server itself that needs to be upgraded. A good proactive IT management strategy to consider is analyzing and evaluating your equipment frequently to make necessary upgrades ahead of time to ensure everything is operating at high levels.
Insufficient Staffing
A single IT professional, or even a small team, typically isn’t enough to handle the demands of operating an IT department on a day to day bases. This is why most businesses opt for outsourcing and using network monitoring services instead. You don’t have to worry about putting together a full IT staff in-house. Instead, you can have the managed service provider handle everything from monitoring to resolution. Operating without the right amount of IT staff for too long can eventually lead to significant downtime due to the demands.
Human Errors
No one is perfect, so human errors are going to happen in every company. A good proactive IT management strategy to implement is providing education to employees to ensure they don’t make major mistakes that lead to significant downtime. Errors occur mostly when employees aren’t trained properly, don’t understand the consequences of certain actions and more. The more complex your network is, the more training you should provide to minimize the chances of critical human errors.
At Single Point of Contact, we know network downtime is one of the worst nightmares for companies. Our white label network monitoring services will help you minimize the chances of downtime, as we proactively monitor all aspects of your organization and get ahead of any potential issues. Business owners still have the responsibility of managing their employees and providing proper education, but we are here to help in virtually every other aspect from an IT perspective. To learn more about our IT services, contact us at any time.
