You only have to glance around you at a coffee shop to notice that we’re more heavily dependent on technology than ever before. While many of us use our phones to catch up with friends and keep abreast of the news, businesses rely on the internet for a whole host of reasons. Even the briefest window of downtime can have a ripple effect, costing organizations both financially and in terms of their reputation and brand image. Did you know that around 60% of IT executives have to contend with downtime at least once a month? With downtime a real threat to all companies and organizations, it’s wise to explore the potential implications of technical issues or an internet outage and to consider effective solutions.
The effects of Internet downtime
Picture the scene. You’re a customer and you’re just about to pay for a product. The system goes down. You leave the store or the virtual aisles and shop elsewhere. Another scenario. You’re at work, you’re inputting data, going about your day to day business and working through your to-do list. The internet goes down. You have to stop and wait for the network to get back up and running. You’ve lost time and you might also lose your work. Internet downtime can affect everyone at a corporation or organization from the business owner to staff members, customers, patients or students. According to Cradlepoint, downtime contributes to a loss in revenue worth $6,500 per minute, but the costs are not solely financial.
The immediate impact is not the only problem, especially for businesses with branch offices. Even a couple of minutes of downtime can trigger a snowball effect. Every situation is likely to be slightly different, but here are some examples of effects that may occur as a result of internet downtime:
- Losses at the point of sale: if your system goes down during peak hours, and you can’t take payments or process orders, you could lose a substantial amount of money at the point of sale.
- Security risks and compliance: if your system is breached, you’ll be vulnerable to attacks and you may risk running into compliance issues.
- Sync stoppages: many businesses and organizations utilize systems, for example, cloud applications, which won’t be able to sync if the internet is down. In some cases, this may force you to cease operations completely or partially.
- Inventory management problems: even a brief period of downtime can halt operations due to inventory chaos.
- Communications breakdown: communication is key for companies and organizations that liaise with the public. If you can’t communicate with other departments or customers, this will undoubtedly impact productivity and it could also hamper customer service.
- Reputation: internet downtime doesn’t just affect profits and sales. It can also influence the way customers, clients, students, staff, partners or investors view your brand. If you keep letting people down because your network isn’t reliable or secure, they may start to question your trustworthiness and consider looking elsewhere for products or services. In the age of 24-hour media and online reviews and social platforms, it has never been more important to try and maintain an excellent reputation.
Effective solutions from Cradlepoint
Internet outages can spell serious trouble for any company or organization. Thankfully, if you run a business, there are steps you can take to try and reduce the risk of downtime and ensure a rapid response if problems crop up. Cradlepoint caters to businesses of all sizes and scales, providing solutions for internal outages for organizations, authorities and facilities that rely on mission critical communications. If the internet drops, Cradlepoint appliances step in, providing seamless backup services via 4G and 5G wireless technology that enables you to go about your business as normal and continue using systems, such as hosted cloud.
For a small investment, you can enjoy the benefits of effective disaster recovery through a failover solution for your business, or an organization such as a school, college or government office, as well as peace of mind. Cradlepoint solutions offer the ability to stay connected, to communicate effectively and to minimize disruption and reputation damage.
The most popular Cradlepoint appliance we sell is the CBA850. This is a turnkey branch solution, which is designed to maximize uptime. The beauty of this appliance is that it integrates quickly and easily with existing network infrastructure and you can connect to a primary out of band router via wireless technology. This option also features power-over-ethernet, which facilitates flexibility and improves cellular reception.
Any business or organization can be vulnerable to the threat of internet downtime. If you’re not already taking steps to reduce risks and protect your profits and your reputation, now is the time to think about the potential consequences of unexpected outages. It’s always better to be safe than sorry, and for just a small amount, you can enjoy seamless protection and peace of mind.