How Does Downtime and Slow Internet Affect Your Business?

Are you a small business owner in Miami struggling with downtime or slow internet? If so, then you know how quickly each second of lost productivity can impact your company's bottom line. These are just some of the unfortunate consequences:  

• Missed deadlines and lost business opportunities due to delayed projects or services. 
• Increased stress and frustration for employees trying to get work done during downtime. 
• Lost inventory or data that may be difficult or impossible to recover. 
• Increased IT support costs for resolving the downtime and restoring systems. 
• Potential legal liabilities resulting from lost or compromised data. 

It does not matter if it is sudden, IT outages during peak hours or sluggish internet connection when everyone needs it the most—as an IT company, we understand better than anyone how quickly these issues can derail even the best laid plans. That is why today we want to talk about downtime, slow connection speeds, and explain why they should be taken seriously by all businesses —large and small alike. 

Numbers First: Calculate the Cost of Your Company Downtime

If your company relies on technology to do business, it is critical to know the real cost of your downtime. No matter if you are running an enterprise or a single one-person business, activities such as sales, calls, payments, marketing, and communications via voice or email relies on technology.

According to a 2019 survey by Statista, the average cost per hour of enterprise server downtime ranges between 10 K to 5 M dollars. Another study commissioned by IBM in 2019 with 100 IT directors in large US enterprises concluded that planned downtime costs their organization $1.5 million in their previous quarter and $5.6 million in their previous year. Whereas unplanned downtime costs 35% more per minute than planned downtime.

IT expenses for small business owners are probably not that high, and it’s common among CEOs to believe downtimes do not represent a considerable amount of money. Why? Because they think an outage on their internet or computers only represents an hour or two of some employees without work. But a study run by Carbonite years ago estimated the average downtime cost for small business falls within a range of $137 to $427 per minute.

If you look at your numbers from a different perspective, OnePoll found that “on average, employees lose 44 minutes every week due to poor broadband speeds and connectivity – That doesn't sound like a lot but, if you have 10 employees that are all losing 44 minutes every week, that's over 7 hours of lost productivity. You are losing a day's worth of productivity every week!” 

 

So, when you include the most critical variables in your equation, you can see where their money goes and how to minimize the impact on your company budget. 

Let’s do your numbers with this simple formula: 

Cost of Downtime (per hour) = Lost sales + Employees cost + Tech Support cost    

Suppose you own a firm with one to four employees that have an average annual receipt of $387,000 (Data from SBA). Now divide that number by 12 to get your average income per month: $32,250. If your company has 20 business days, we could say that the average daily receipt is $1,612.5. 

Number of employees: 4 

Employee Cost per hour: 4 employees charging 15 USD per hour:$80.00 

Daily sales: $1,612.5 USD. 

Sales costs per hour: Daily Sales —> $1,612.5  / 8 hrs —> $201.56 /per hour 

Repair costs per hour: $100.00 USD.  

Small businesses usually don’t count on a technician to solve tech issues right away. Getting someone available to visit your company to diagnose network issues at your company would cost you at least 100 USD per hour. If you don’t have any documentation about your network, a diagnostic would take at least 2 hours. 

The total cost of 1-hour downtime: —> $201.56 (lost sales) + 80.00 (employees cost) + 100.00 (tech support cost) = 361.56 (22.42% from daily sales) 

The total cost of 2-hours downtime: —> $361.56 x 2= 723.12 (44.84% from daily sales) 

"BESIDES THE TANGIBLE COSTS OF DOWNTIMES, IT’S IMPORTANT TO THINK ABOUT THE REPUTATION OF YOUR COMPANY. HOW MUCH HAVE YOU INVESTED TO BUILD IT?" 

Based on our example, we can say that 1 to 2 hours of downtime takes between 22% to 44% from daily total sales, which is a considerable chunk from any company income. 

As you see, several factors are part of the total cost of downtime. To keep math simple, we did not include overhead expenses.  

Here is another way to calculate network outages to your business including labor cost and lost revenue: 

https://www.capitalmds.com/downtime-calculator/ 

Besides the tangible costs, it is important to think about the reputation of your company. As a business owner, you know the construction of a brand requires creativity, hard work, tears, and in the end, everything represents time and money! How much have you invested to build it? This number is certainly higher than the total cost per hour we inferred from the formula.  

6 Tips on How to Mitigate the Effects of Downtime and Slow Internet Connectivity

As an IT company in Miami, we understand the immense impact that downtime and slow internet connectivity can have on your business. It can cause lost productivity, missed deadlines, and ultimately, a loss of revenue. That's why we've compiled some tips on how to best mitigate the effects of these issues.

Tip #1 - A backup plan in place 

 

One of the most important things you can do is to have a backup plan in place. This means having an alternate internet source or a backup generator to keep things running smoothly. 

In our modern, rapidly evolving, and technology-dependent society, businesses depend on their IT infrastructure to ensure seamless operations. Nevertheless, unforeseen occurrences like power outages, ISP disruptions, or system failures can result in considerable downtime and monetary setbacks. To reduce the effects of such incidents, it is crucial for businesses to establish a solid backup plan. These are the key components of an effective backup plan to ensure business continuity during unforeseen circumstances.  

• Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) 
• Backup Internet Connection 
• Redundant Systems 
• Data Backup and Recovery 
• Disaster Recovery Plan 
• Employee Training 

 

Tip #2 - Network Updates & Maintenance

 

It's also crucial to stay on top of updates and maintenance for your network to prevent potential issues from arising. By taking proactive steps, you can minimize disruptions and keep your business on track. First, you should establish a schedule for regularly backing up data. This will help protect against data loss in the event of an outage or other disruption. You should also install software updates as soon as they become available. These updates often contain important security patches that can help protect against malicious attacks. Additionally, you should perform regular hardware checks to make sure all components are functioning properly. 

Finally, it's important to document any changes made to the network so that you can quickly identify any issues that may arise. This documentation should include information about any new hardware or software installed on the network, as well as details about any changes made to existing components. By having this information readily available, you will be able to quickly diagnose and resolve any problems that occur on the network. 

Tip #3 - Network Monitoring to avoid a major crash due to a lack of preventive work 

Network monitoring is a critical IT process that helps to ensure the optimal availability and performance of a computer network. It involves the discovery, mapping, and monitoring of all networking components such as routers, switches, firewalls, servers, and VMs. By using network monitoring software to constantly monitor the health and reliability of a network, organizations can avoid major crashes due to a lack of preventive work. 

Network performance monitoring is an important part of network monitoring. It works on a system of thresholds that track metrics on network activity and resource usage. If any threshold is exceeded or if any component fails, alerts are sent out so that corrective action can be taken before it leads to downtime or other serious issues. This helps organizations prevent costly outages and maintain high levels of service quality for their customers. 

Another way to prevent downtime is by using best-in-class network monitoring tools. These tools provide real-time visibility into the performance of your entire IT infrastructure so you can quickly identify potential problems before they cause downtime or other issues. They also allow you to set up automated notifications so you can be alerted when something goes wrong with your network or its components. 

Finally, it’s important to have an experienced team in place who are knowledgeable about the latest technologies and trends in network monitoring. They should be able to identify potential problems quickly and take corrective action before they lead to major disruptions in service quality or availability. 

By taking these steps, organizations can ensure that their networks remain reliable and available at all times while avoiding costly downtimes due to lack of preventive work. 

 

Tip #4 - Work with an IT Company to help with Infrastructure & Security

Having a reliable IT infrastructure and security system is essential for any business. Working with an experienced IT company can help ensure that your systems are secure and functioning properly. A good IT company will be able to assess your current infrastructure and security setup, identify potential vulnerabilities, and provide you with the necessary solutions to mitigate downtime. 

The first step in working with an IT company is to have them conduct a thorough assessment of your existing infrastructure and security system. This assessment should include an analysis of the hardware, software, networks, and other components that make up your system. Once they have identified any potential weaknesses or risks, they can then provide you with the best possible solutions to address them. This could include upgrading existing hardware or software, implementing new security protocols, or deploying additional monitoring tools. 

Another important aspect of working with an IT company is having them regularly monitor your system for any suspicious activity or threats. They should also be able to provide you with real-time alerts when something goes wrong so that you can take immediate action if needed. Having this type of proactive monitoring in place can help reduce the risk of downtime due to malicious attacks or other unexpected events. 

Tip #5 - Invest in a high-speed network connection

Ultimately, downtime and slow internet conditions can leave your business in dire straits. To avoid these problems, investing in a high-speed network connection is essential. As an IT company based in Miami, we understand the importance of solid network connectivity for businesses of all sizes. It's a fact that high-speed internet access is critical for companies to remain competitive, communicate with customers, and maintain productivity levels. The value of investing in this technology cannot be overstated. Properly implementing a high-speed internet infrastructure can lead to a significant reduction in business costs, boost employee morale, enhance communication capabilities, and ultimately increase revenue. As a team committed to supporting Miami businesses, we encourage you to consider the long-term benefits of investing in this important technology. 

 

Tip #6 - Embrace Cloud Computing to Keep Your Business Up and Running

As a business owner, you understand the importance of keeping your operations running smoothly. That's where cloud computing comes in - it's a powerful tool that can keep your systems up and running around the clock. By storing your data in the cloud, you gain access to a flexible, scalable platform that can grow with your business. Plus, cloud computing can help you cut costs, enabling you to invest your resources where they're most needed. Whether you're running a small startup or a global corporation, cloud computing can provide you with the confidence and peace of mind you need to stay competitive in today's fast-paced business landscape. At our IT company in Miami, we're passionate about helping our clients harness the power of cloud computing to achieve their business goals.  

The Ripple Effect of Poor Network Connectivity

As an IT company based in Miami, we understand how critical network connectivity is to businesses in today's digital age. Unfortunately, the effects of poor connectivity can cause ripples of consequences that can be felt throughout an organization. Slow internet speeds can lead to unproductive employees, frustrated customers, and lost revenue due to missed opportunities. Additionally, network downtime can result in costly repairs and damaged reputations. That's why we prioritize providing our clients with reliable and efficient network solutions that keep their businesses running smoothly and cost-effectively. By preventing the ripple effect of poor connectivity, we can help businesses thrive in today's competitive market. 

If you are a business owner facing tech outages, stop losing time and money and start covering what you care the most: the technology in charge of the daily operations of your company! As an IT business based in Miami, we understand the importance of network connectivity for business growth and success. That's why we believe in proactive solutions to achieve maximum network performance. Partner with us and experience the peace of mind that comes with having a network that you can rely on.