How to Protect Your Business from Downtime

Published on: 14 November 2018 Last Updated on: 13 September 2024
Business Downtime

One of the costliest experiences your business can face is network downtime. It can result in tremendous loss of profit if contracts are not fulfilled or services are not provided simply because you cannot access the relevant information you need.

While there are many advantages to moving to a cloud network, there are also some things that can go wrong. As with any business practice, it is important to plan for what can go wrong and protect yourself when this happens.

Expect the Unexpected:

Downtime can occur at any point with little notice. When this happens, it can fully interrupt your daily business plan and can leave you spinning and looking for something to do until you can get online.

To minimize the loss in this time, it is imperative that you develop a full continuity plan to be utilized in the event of downtime. You may also need to check any service level agreements (or SLAs) that you may have with a third party to make sure that you are protected from any action from then during downtime.

Appreciate That It Might Sometimes Be You:

These frustrating periods of downtime are not always caused by the cloud provider. Sometimes it might be as simple as a dodgy script or piece of code causing your cloud to go down. In this scenario, the onus is on you to fix it and not upon the cloud provider since the problem originated from you.

Check everything frequently to ensure that you are completing things to the best of your ability. Any coding needs to be properly checked before it goes live on the site and bugs need to be found and fixed as quickly as possible. If you are introducing something from a third-party developer, make sure that is from a reputable source so that it does not damage any of the structure that you have worked so hard to build. Do not add anything to your cloud unless you know exactly what it is and where it has come from.

Use a Multi-Cloud Structure:

By using a multi-cloud structure which operates across different accessibility zones, you are decreasing the likelihood of your business being completely cut off from its work. This may not eliminate your downtime risk but it can certainly help to minimize it.

Check that the individual cloud providers you are using for your hybrid structure aren’t using the same data centre and the same resources. If this is the case, having a multi-cloud structure for the purpose of reducing downtime is completely redundant.

Prepare for Recovery:

Sudden downtime can result in some awful loss of data and projects if you are not careful. Sometimes, this loss can occur even if you follow the best online practices. To best recover from downtime and data loss, you will need to use some proactive measures and potentially contact an expert to help.

Disaster Recover as a Service (or DRaaS) is a service which can be implemented as part of your overall cloud package from the right provider. Along with other services like infrastructure or software, many should be able to offer disaster recovery. Find out more about DRaaS from ukcloud.com; these experts know all about it.

Downtime may seem like a scary prospect which can seriously affect your performance depending on how you handle it. Like many aspects of business, you will be able to weather even periods of unexpected downtime if you have a proactive business plan in place. Be sensible, and you will be able to protect your company properly no matter what is thrown at it.

Read More: 

  1. 5Tricks for Using Twitter to Grow Your Business.
  2. The Top Reasons Why Your Business Needs a Security Guard.
  3. Thinking of becoming an entrepreneur? What is the cost to start a business?

Content Rally wrapped around an online publication where you can publish your own intellectuals. It is a publishing platform designed to make great stories by content creators. This is your era, your place to be online. So come forward share your views, thoughts and ideas via Content Rally.

View all posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related

Workers Compensation

Top 5 Benefits Employees And Employers Get from Workers Compensation

If you own or operate a business and do not currently have a compensation plan in the case of a workplace injury, you are not only taking a dangerous gamble, but you may also be breaking the law. Worker’s compensation is required in most places and even where it isn’t, that doesn’t absolve the employer from their responsibility. For those who aren’t sure exactly what benefit this type of business insurance provides, here are 5 examples for both you and your employees: Benefits for Employers: Worker’s compensation is also invaluable to employees, as the complications that can arise from a workplace injury are numerous. Here are some of those benefits: 1. Limited Liability Employers are typically protected from lawsuits filed by employees who are injured on the job, as long as they have worker’s comp insurance in place. This can help to limit the employer's liability and financial exposure in the event of a workplace injury. 2. Reduced Absenteeism With this insurance in place, employees can receive treatment and benefits for their injuries, which can help to reduce absenteeism and keep employees on the job. 3. Increased Productivity By providing employees with the resources and support they need to recover from their injuries, employers can help to increase productivity and reduce the impact of workplace injuries on their business. 4. Improved Employee Morale When employees feel that their employer cares about their well-being and is willing to support them in the event of an injury, it can help to improve employee morale and reduce turnover. 5. Compliance with Legal Requirements Workers comp is typically required by law, and employers who are found to be non-compliant can face penalties and fines. Maintaining coverage helps employers to avoid these penalties and stay in compliance with legal requirements. Benefits for Employees: Before you can make an educated decision on what type of coverage your company needs, the first thing you have to understand is what worker’s comp provides for your business. You can see more at https://www.employers.com/workers-compensation/. 1. Medical Treatment and Expenses Employees who are injured on the job are entitled to receive medical care and costs related to their injury. This can include things like doctor's visits, hospital stays, and physical therapy. 2. Temporary Disability Benefits If an employee is unable to work due to their injury, they may be eligible for temporary disability benefits to help replace their lost income. 3. Permanent Disability Benefits If an employee's injury results in a lifelong disability, they may receive permanent disability benefits to help compensate for their loss of earning capacity. 4. Vocational Rehabilitation Some employee compensation programs provide vocational rehabilitation services to help injured employees return to work. This can include job training, retraining, and other services to help employees regain their earning capacity. 5. Death Benefits In the event of a workplace death, the employee's dependents may be eligible for death benefits to help cover expenses and loss of income. Where to Find the Right Worker’s Compensation Coverage for Your Business There are many different types of policies, depending on the size of your company, local laws and regulations, as well as what service or product you provide. A little bit of research and a few simple questions will let you know what’s best for you and your employees. Read Also: 7 Best Employee Recognition Awards Ideas Why In-Company Training Results in Better Employees How to Get Your Employees to Use a Time Clock App

READ MOREDetails
growing company

Fastest Growing Company, on Creating the Best Place to Work

Building a successful company starts with picking the best employees, and building upon the relationship through mentorship, promoting employees when appropriate, and seeking external expertise and talent as needed. Selecting employees based on their cultural fit works well, also; having everyone on the same page come Monday morning means a workplace where everyone pulls for each other, including the company and its objectives. But once the team gets built, then what? Creating and nurturing a successful business is one thing; creating the best place to work is quite another. UE.co is a Great Place To Work Certified company, where 94% of employees rate the San Diego based employer as a great place to work. The company is also dedicated to promoting the pursuit of higher education and recently announced the UE.co Community Scholarship to support innovators and leaders in the community. Here, UE.co shares strategies that companies can implement to create the best workplace. 1. Maintain a Coachable Environment: In the same way that a sports team benefits from ongoing feedback, companies, where employee coaching happens on a regular basis, endorse a highly productive environment and promote continuous improvement. And it’s not about pointing out flaws; it’s about encouraging employees to push farther, beyond their attainable limits, and encouraging them to share their ideas openly. According to Quantum Workplace, that includes being open to employee feedback to the manager, also known as 360 feedback. 2. Create Well-Defined Core Values: Embracing well-defined core values not only serves as something of a roadmap for how the company behaves in the ordinary course of business; it also sets the stage for how employees are expected to conduct themselves. Another benefit includes promoting the company’s core purpose, or it’s “why” as described in Simon Sinek’s famous TEDx talk. As an added benefit, when management leads their teams based on those distinct core values, they will attract both internal and external talent that shares those same core beliefs and values. When employees share values with their employer, they feel engaged and mission-driven, something that Fast Company identifies as critical attributes that employees considered when rating their employer in the Best Places to Work in 2019. Everyone wins. 3. Engage with Your Community: As a follow-up to how employee engagement increases when they share their company’s well-defined core values, corporate responsibility in the communities where employees spend their time outside of work further deepens that commitment. According to entrepreneur.com, engaging with and serving the community not only builds customer loyalty, but it allows employees to volunteer and to develop outside of the workplace. Getting employees on board is crucial, as is letting everyone know what the company does for the community at large. What This Means: Ultimately, creating the best place to work comes down to employee engagement. Not only does Harvard Business Review identify engaged employees as 50% more likely to exceed expectations than least-engaged employees, but companies with engaged employees outperform their peers four-fold in terms of revenue growth, 89% in terms of customer satisfaction and 54% in employee retention. The strategies outlined above by UE.co are rooted in employee engagement. Read Also: Benefits That Employees Actually Look For Finding Your Dream Career: 5 Useful Tips For You To Research About A Company Before You Apply

READ MOREDetails
Customer Service

How Customer Service Is Impacting Your Business In 2022!

High-quality customer service is a crucial element of any client-facing business. It can have a direct impact on the number of sales you make, the morale within your business, and most importantly, the reputation you create surrounding your company. You should invest in customer service so that your business can rise to success, and you can do this by ensuring clear and concise communication with conversational commerce, as well as utilizing in-depth training for employees at all levels. Read on to find out more about how customer service is impacting your business in 2022. 1. Good Reputation One of the main ways that customer service will impact your business this year, and in the future, is that it can help you to build a good reputation. A lot of us will choose to use a business on the recommendation of others, or from reviews we’ve read online – if you are well-known for providing good customer service, going above and beyond what the customer expects, and enhancing the customer’s experience, word of mouth will result in your business achieving a good reputation. This can increase sales and the overall success of your business. 2. Increased sales Good customer service means that more people are likely to use your product and service. If your customers are happy with the service they receive, they’ll likely buy from your business now and in the future. Good word of mouth from happy customers can attract first-time customers to your business, which therefore means an increase in sales. If your employees know the product on offer inside out, talk to customers with confidence and clarity, and go out of their way to help them with any queries or issues they may have, they stand more of a chance of closing the deal and driving sales up. 3. Business morale The way your employees treat customers gives an insight into how they were trained and the morale within the business itself. Good customer service should be evident as soon as customers walk through the door, and it not only reflects well on the business and the product you’re selling, but it also shows that you have dedicated time and effort to choosing the best workers to help the business succeed. Properly training your staff from the day they have hired means that they can uphold your business value and reputation. If you choose the right employee, they will want to help – and providing good customer service will make them feel accomplished, improving the overall atmosphere within the business. 4. Competitive edge  The level of customer service that your employees provide within your business has an impact on your competitive edge. In business, there is always going to be a competitor that you’re working alongside, and to make your business a success, you must do all you can to ensure that you’re one step ahead. If your customer feels like they are not being treated as they would expect, they may end up taking their business straight to one of your competitors – good customer service can reduce the chance of this happening. Not only this, but it is also always best that employees know how to diffuse a situation should a customer become disgruntled to alleviate the chance of them shopping elsewhere. 5. Improves overall experience Good customer service simply makes everyone’s lives a little bit easier – the employees, the owners, and the customers. No one wants to spend a chunk of their day trying to solve a problem with a product or service, by being put on hold or not being able to speak to someone about an issue. Good customer service means your business can be accessible to everyone, at any time. Equally, employees don’t want to feel worthless if they haven’t had sufficient training to help a customer or end up having to deal with an unsatisfied, and angry client. Making sure the level of customer service you provide is high, means that you can keep your employees happy, your customers happy, and most importantly, give your business a boost towards success. Additionals: 4 Simple And Cheap Methods To Attract More CustomersTips for ensuring your company’s customers are content with its contentYour Ad Can Show To A Potential Customer When Your Targeted Language MatchesHow U.S.-Based Appointment Reminders Can Help Customers Keep Track of Their Schedule

READ MOREDetails