Unplanned downtime occurs when there’s an unanticipated shutdown or failure of your technology infrastructure, equipment, or processes, leading to costly delays in production schedules, increased costs due to unscheduled maintenance, and increased risk of environmental incidents and personnel injuries.
While unexpected downtime is typical during temporary situations, such as scheduled system outages or routine system upgrades, it can also happen during normal operations. For instance, a server might crash, a power failure could interrupt business processes, or a machine may malfunction while performing an important task.
The root causes of unplanned downtime are often complex and challenging to identify. However, you can reduce the likelihood of downtime by implementing preventive measures such as regular system monitoring, proactive maintenance, and contingency planning.
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What is Unplanned Downtime?
Unplanned or unscheduled downtime occurs when one part of a network fails to communicate properly with another part of the network. This could happen due to hardware failure, software error, or human error. A network outage can cause problems ranging from minor inconveniences like slow internet speeds to significant issues such as losing access to essential data. Depending on the hours of downtime, this could cost businesses millions of dollars in lost productivity and revenue.
In addition to causing financial losses, unplanned downtime can be dangerous for employees and customers. If a company’s computer systems fail, they may not have access to critical information that could affect their safety or security. In some cases, unplanned downtime can lead to serious accidents and even fatalities.
The types of potential failures that occur are called outages. These include:
• Hardware Failure – When a physical device stops functioning correctly. When a critical component fails, the entire machine will likely stop working. Examples include hard drive crashes, overheating, and electrical surges.
• Software Failure– A program malfunctions because of a bug or programming mistake. It may result in incorrect output or missing functionality.
• Human Error– When someone makes a mistake while operating a device. Operator error accounts for about half of all IT outages.
• System Crash – When a process running on a computer, crashes and restarts without warning.
• Machine Failure – When a piece of machinery malfunctions, such as a printer jamming.
• Network Failure– Customer services may be disrupted when your network fails to connect correctly.
• Computer Virus/Trojan Horse Attack – When malware infects a computer system.
• Power Outage – When the power goes off unexpectedly. Companies can prevent these outages by using an uninterruptible power supply or UPS.
A network outage can affect any number of devices connected to the network. It may only impact computers or all devices connected to the network, including printers, phones, fax machines, and other peripherals.
When a network outage does occur, it usually affects multiple devices simultaneously. Most network outages last longer than expected because they often involve several components.
When a network outage occurs, affected users should expect their devices to work slowly or not at all until the problem has been resolved. They should also expect to receive an email informing them of the issue.
Being Prepared for Unplanned Downtime
Unplanned downtime is something every organization dreads. But there are ways to mitigate the impact of such events.
To best protect yourself from unplanned downtime, you’ll need to ensure that your entire environment is replicated in a remote data center and that the environment can automatically be accessed during unplanned downtime.
Factors to Consider When Preparing for Unplanned Downtime:
• Timeframe – How long does the unplanned downtime need to occur? Is it a matter of minutes, hours, days, weeks, or months?
• RPO – What maximum time is needed before your disaster recovery plan kicks in?
• Latency – How far away must the secondary site be located? Will it work if it’s located in a different state or city?
• Availability – What percentage of availability do you want to maintain? For example, if you’re only willing to lose 5% of your users’ access, you may not want to replicate all of your servers to another location.
• Recovery Point Objective (RPO) – Do you want to recover to a specific point? Or do you want to continue operating normally until the primary server is online?
• Disaster Recovery Plan – Does your company have a formal DR plan? If so, review it regularly to ensure it meets your business requirements.
• Business Continuity Planning – Are you currently doing any BC planning? If so, what are you doing?
Once you have determined how much time you need to spend on unplanned downtime, you will need to determine which disaster recovery solution is right for your business.
There are many types of solutions available:
• Virtualization – Replicating virtualized environments across two sites is one way to minimize downtime when a disaster strikes.
• Cloud-Based Solutions – A cloud-based solution allows you to store your data in the cloud and access it from a remote location. This eliminates duplicating your data by replicating it between two locations.
• Onsite Backup – Backing up your data locally is another option. You can use this method to create a local copy of your data, or you can use it to restore your data after a disaster.
The decision about which solution is right for your company depends on your budget, current infrastructure, and business requirements.
How Much Does Unplanned Downtime Cost Businesses?
Network downtime can cause major problems for small businesses. A semi-recent study by Gartner found that small businesses’ average cost of downtime was around $5,600 per minute.
While companies can plan scheduled downtime to minimize costs, they often experience unexpected, unplanned downtime. Unplanned downtime can cause significant unexpected expenses, particularly challenging for small business owners no matter how long the downtime duration is.
But what exactly causes these costs? There are four main areas in which downtime can impact a business:
Lost Revenue
Too many unexpected outages are a quick way to kill your business. If your customer service team cannot connect to a critical system, such as a payment processing gateway, you may lose current and future customers and their sales. In addition, if your employees cannot access email or other key components, they may miss deadlines and fail to deliver products or services to clients.
Increased IT Support Costs
Unplanned downtime can lead to additional IT support costs. If your servers crash or become inaccessible, you must hire extra help to fix the problem. You may also need to pay overtime wages for your existing IT staff.
Legal Fees
Legal issues often arise during network downtime. Suppose your business relies on electronic communications, such as emails, text messages, or chat apps. In that case, you may face legal action if someone sends an incorrect email or makes inappropriate comments while logged into your application.
Costly Repairs
Even minor network problems can require expensive repairs. You may need to purchase new hardware or software if your server crashes. Or if your internet connection fails, you may have to spend money on a new modem or router.
Intangible Costs
Network downtime can also result in intangible losses. For example, if your website goes down, you may lose potential customers who visit your site but don’t complete a transaction. And if your company loses its reputation online, you could suffer reputational damage.
How to Prevent an Unplanned Downtime Incident
Unplanned downtime is inevitable. But you don’t have to let it take over your business. Luckily, there are several ways to prevent this type of disruption. Here are some tips to keep your network running smoothly:
1. Back Up Your Data Regularly
One of the best ways to avoid unplanned downtime is to back up your data regularly. Make sure that all of your computers and devices are backed up at least once every week. It’s also recommended that you back up your data daily.
2. Keep Your Servers Running 24/7
If possible, ensure that your servers run 24 hours a day, seven days a week. While this will increase your monthly electricity bill, it will ensure that your servers always have power when needed.
3. Maintain Proper Security
Your network should be secure. Ensure that firewalls and antivirus programs protect your computer systems. Also, make sure that only authorized users can log onto your network.
4. Use a Monitoring Service
If you’re not already using one, consider using a monitoring service to monitor your network in real time. This way, you’ll know immediately if any problems arise.
5. Update Software Frequently
Software updates are necessary to keep your network operating correctly. However, updating software too frequently can cause more problems than it solves. Try to update your software about once per month.
6. Monitor Network Traffic
You should monitor traffic on your network to identify potential problems before they occur. For example, if you notice unusually high usage levels, you may want to investigate why this is happening.
7. Install Updates Automatically
You should install automatic updates for your operating system and other software. These updates usually include security patches and bug fixes. Installing these updates automatically means you won’t have to worry about them.
8. Test Your System Before Launching Live Services
Before launching live services, test your system thoroughly. Check everything from your firewall settings to your DNS records. If something isn’t working correctly, you can quickly correct the issue before your customers see anything wrong.
9. Perform Regular Maintenance
Perform regular maintenance on your network equipment. This includes checking your routers and modems and cleaning out dust and debris from inside your servers.
10. Be Prepared for Emergencies
In case of an emergency or equipment failure, you should plan ahead. You should have a list of phone numbers handy in case of emergencies. Also, it would be best if you had a backup generator ready.
11. Have a Plan B
In case of an emergency, having a plan B is essential. It would help if you had a backup server ready to launch in case your primary server goes down.
12. Don’t Ignore Warnings
Warnings are important because they provide you with information about potential problems. When you receive alerts, try to resolve the issue quickly. Otherwise, you could end up losing some or all of your data.
How to Communicate Network Downtime
No matter why downtime occurs, whether planned or unplanned, communicating with all affected staff is important. A recent survey conducted by the Joint Commission International found that most organizations are not doing enough to ensure that staff members understand what is happening during a network outage. When downtime occurs, most respondents reported that they did not provide adequate training to staff members regarding how to respond to unexpected events.
Communication is key to minimizing disruptions caused by downtime. However, different types of downtime situations require a different communication approach. Here are three examples of downtime scenarios and how to handle them.
Planned Outage
If you know ahead of time that you will experience a planned outage, you must plan accordingly. It would help if you considered developing a strategy for communicating with your staff. This includes planning how to notify people, what type of notification will be used, and how to ensure everyone understands the reason for the outage.
Unplanned Outage
An unplanned outage occurs unexpectedly. As soon as you realize something is wrong, you must immediately contact the appropriate parties to let them know what is happening. Ensure that you include the name of the person who called you and the nature of the problem. Also, tell them what actions you are taking to resolve the issue.
Emergency Situation
An emergency arises unexpectedly. In this case, you must act quickly to determine the extent of the damage and take immediate steps to restore operations. Be prepared to answer questions such as “What happened?” and “Why am I being disconnected now?”. Once you have determined the cause of the disruption, you must decide how to proceed. Depending on the severity of the situation, you might shut down the system temporarily. At the same time, you fix the problem, or you might decide to keep the system running even though it is experiencing problems.
The goal of communication is to provide employees with accurate information about the status of the network and the systems that support it. Employees need to understand the reasons behind the downtime, what actions are being undertaken to correct the problem, and when the systems will be restored.
What Is Planned Downtime, And Why Do You Need It?
Planned downtime is a common practice among system administrators. They often schedule it during off hours to minimize service interruptions. This helps IT staff perform several types of maintenance tasks, such as performing diagnostics, replacing hardware, repairing networks, or updating operating systems.
In addition to these reasons, planned downtime has some additional benefits. For example, you can reduce the risk of data loss due to human error. If someone accidentally deletes files while working on a project, they won’t lose everything because the system will still be offline. Also, scheduling downtime allows IT staff to perform necessary upgrades and fixes without disrupting customer access.
The benefits of planned downtime include the following:
• Minimizes service disruptions
• Reduces costs associated with unplanned downtime
• Facilitates hardware replacement
• Improves reliability and uptime
• Allows IT staff to perform critical repairs
• Provides an opportunity to update software
• Gives IT staff time to plan future projects
• Helps to improve overall performance
Planned downtime is also beneficial when dealing with outages caused by natural disasters. By having a backup solution in place, you can quickly restore services after a major storm or other events.
Wrapping Up
Unplanned downtime can lead to increased production time, loss of business, and financial losses. Therefore, companies need to implement a well-designed disaster recovery plan. It should include procedures for identifying potential issues before they occur, planning for unplanned downtime, and implementing solutions to prevent downtime from occurring in the first place.
You can ensure your company has a reliable infrastructure that minimizes downtime through preventive maintenance, real-time replication, and automated backups by sending us a message!
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