Unplanned network downtime continues to be a thorn in the side of many businesses.

In a recent study, 89 percent of IT professionals indicated their organization has suffered from at least one unplanned network outage. Sixty-nine percent of IT professionals have experienced two outages in the last 12 months. And 61 percent stated a critical application was impacted by downtime.

The really troubling part of the study is that 33 percent of respondents said they have zero tolerance for downtime. More than 25 percent claimed they could only withstand a few seconds of downtime. Yet, the survey found that 60 percent of outages lasted for more than one hour!

So, what makes network downtime so difficult to combat anyway? And why are so many businesses struggling with this issue?

A data center is like a car engine, in that it needs regular maintenance and attention in order to work properly. Data centers are complex and highly error-prone. Downtime can stem from a number of different places like cables, power sources, routers or switches. And oftentimes, small problems can cascade into much larger issues if you don’t eliminate them.

Most businesses lack the time, money and manpower to keep their data center running at an optimal level. Plus, many people would rather focus on customer growth than IT-related matters.

Our response is typically that customer growth and data center performance go hand in hand. Whenever the data center is affected by downtime, the rest of the business feels it to. Every department, after all —from billing to customer support — needs network connectivity in order to operate.

It’s for this reason why many businesses today are choosing to partner with dedicated managed service providers (MSPs). By working with an MSP, you can receive rapid-response troubleshooting and ongoing network maintenance at an affordable price. It’s much more cost-effective than hiring a full time IT worker.  

So take a stand against network downtime. Contact Apex Technology Services today.

Also, be sure to ask about Apex’s cybersecurity solutions. ad

A new breed of hacktrepeneurs has awoken and they have little to fear and everything to gain by infecting as many companies as possible and extorting money from them. Apex Technology Services stands ready to protect your company regardless of whether it’s located in New York City; White Plains, New York; Connecticut; Australia; Europe; or anywhere else. Our full suite of cybersecurity and IT support services is at your disposal, enabling you to spend less time worrying about and more time growing your business.

In addition, our new Cybersecurity Compliance Certification for law firms will help keep your legal practice from becoming the next Panama Papers victim. This baseline cybersecurity audit for the legal industry should be considered seriously by all law firms.