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

Choosing Between Shopify and Crafting Your Website: A Guide for 2024

Choosing Between Shopify and Crafting Your Website: A Guide for 2024

Starting an e-commerce journey or considering a platform transition requires essential choices. This guide looks into Shopify and custom websites, breaking down their pros and cons. Whether you're new to business or a seasoned entrepreneur, the aim is to give you valuable insights for making intelligent decisions. Decoding Platforms: Shopify And Custom Websites In Focus Shopify is an easy-to-use e-commerce platform with global reach. On the flip side, custom websites are tailored to specific business needs, giving more control and coding skills for setup and upkeep. A Detailed Exploration: Shopify vs. Custom Websites User-Friendliness: Shopify excels with its e-commerce-centric design, offering an intuitive interface and swift customization options. Custom websites demand technical proficiency involving web development, coding skills, and meticulous management. Domain And Hosting: Shopify streamlines the process by eliminating the need for separate domain and hosting decisions. On the other hand, custom websites require careful consideration for goals, structure, and usability. Content Management: Shopify serves as a CMS, facilitating easy content editing and reorganization. Custom websites rely on CMS platforms like WordPress but need a more intuitive nature of Shopify's interface. Website Construction Effort and Time: Shopify allows rapid online store setup in just one day with guided instructions. Building a website from scratch is time-consuming and depends on factors such as size, complexity, and technical skills. Pricing: Shopify offers plans with additional costs for apps, themes, and domain subscriptions. Custom websites involve costs for hosting, domain, SSL certificate, development, extensions, and payment processors. Design And Customization: Shopify provides over 100 customizable templates and a user-friendly drag-and-drop builder. Custom websites offer complete control over design and functionality. Maintenance And Updates: Shopify integrates seamlessly with over 8,000 third-party applications. Custom websites require a more complex selection, investigation, and maintenance process. Support: Shopify ensures 24/7 customer support through various channels. Custom websites rely on the developer or agency, with support quality varying based on skills and responsiveness. Unveiling Advantages Of Using Shopify Advantages include a user-friendly interface, easy configuration, comprehensive e-commerce features, and robust support. Let us try to understand the pros of using Shopify for the sake of better understanding. Easy To Use E-commerce Platforms This is one of the biggest advantages of using Shopify. Shopify is built mainly for the average people and not the skilled developers. It's quite simple to add the products and then create discounts. The web design of it is quite friendly. With the help of drag-and-drop editing tools, you can navigate the software for a pleasant experience. The platform itself provides software for hosting. Supporting Wide Renge Of Busienss  One of the benefits of using the software is supporting a wide range of products like outdoor gear, home goods, beauty supplies, clothing, and digital products. A study tells the fact that household storage containers, bike saddles, kitchen towels, and toy kitchens are considered the highest-trending.  Therefore, if your business involves one of these categories, you can bank on Shopify. Low Startup Costs Shopify’s relatively low monthly fees make the entire setup affordable. Shopify has a 14-day free trial period. Hereafter the users have to pay a monthly subscription fee. The basic plan starts at around $29 per month. The following level is $79 per month. Finally, the top package is $229 a month. Customized Themes  Once you sign up for the account in Shopify, you gain immediate access to around 70 themes that are free of cost. One can easily implement them. It may be easy to get carried away in the design elements. You can spend quite a lot on purchasing the theme from the Shopify store. Drawbacks involve limitations in customization options, potential content and visual optimization issues, and relatively high transaction fees. Unveiling Advantages Of Using Custom Websites: Advantages encompass heightened customization, freedom from platform constraints, extensive third-party integrations, and flexibility in coding and development. Drawbacks include the need for coding expertise, significant budget requirements, time and effort demands, high risk, manual setup, ongoing maintenance, and limited support. However, let us try to understand the advantages of using the customized software here in detail. Unique Design One of the advantages of using a custom web design is presenting uniqueness and individuality. This feature is exclusive only to the customized products where you decide with the designer regarding the website. It makes the brand stand out from the crowd. Custom-Fit  The custom website design cost is less, allowing you to create aesthetic aspects of the template. The design of the product serves. There are unique business needs and expectations. This is why businesses try to design their website to handle their overall personality regarding the product. Due considerations are also provided to the users’ experience, navigation, unique color schemes, and, in the end, the overall personality of the websites. Seo Optimized  Another benefit of personalized websites is their SEO optimization. The customized website design allows for the website to be designed according to the specific SEO technique. It surely facilitates better ranking on the search engine. The better the ranking, the better opportunity gets created for business development. This is one technical point where the customized versions are well ahead. Growing Reputation  The growth and development of business depend on reputation building. Brands try to make their best effort to ensure better connectivity. With the help of customized website design, you can establish a relationship, and through better networking, you can create a unique brand for your company. Ultimately, with the help of a customized reputation, you can grow your ownership and control over your website. Therefore, customized website designs have their gateway to achieving success in the long run. Businesses take the help of these websites to attain a competitive edge. Strategic Conclusion Align your choice with unique needs. Whether opting for Shopify or considering a different platform, trust the adept Shopify developers at VT Labs https://www.vtlabs.org/ for safe and precise site building designed to serve your requirements. Their commitment involves leveraging cutting-edge tools to facilitate a smooth digital transformation journey. Read Also: Everything You Need to Know About Website Development Services 15 Ultimate UI/UX Website Inspiration For Developers 9 Tools To Test If Your Website Is Mobile Friendly

READ MOREDetails
To Stop Spending So Much On Printing

7 Ways To Stop Spending So Much On Printing In Your Business

Running a paperless business is now almost possible due to the rise of technology. However, there are still some who are having a hard time sticking to the program. Either they are not comfortable with the change, or it’s just plainly out of habit. Nevertheless, some businesses are still looking for ways towards a paperless office and discourage the use of printing in order to reduce overall operational cost. So if you are looking for ways to stop spending so much on printing in your business, check out the strategies listed below.   1. Placed networked printers in the office Move to shared printers instead of using personal printers per employee. This eliminates overprinting, over usage of paper and not to mention the cost of maintenance for repairs. Reducing the number of printers can help limit outright expenses and minimize frivolous printing. Have someone to be in-charge of maintaining and restocking the cartridge and paper. A person assigned to regulate the usage of printers can help discipline the employees for overprinting.   2. Follow printer policies Printer policies are great for supporting sustainable and environmentally-friendly workplace by reducing printing costs. Use printer management controls to limit late-night printing or heavy use of color per page. Different printer policies could be applied to various levels of the company. You can state there your purpose, exclusions, and procedures to follow for every employee to see.   3. Adjust the default setting on all the printers To limit more waste in printing, change the default setting on printers. You can set the printer to double-sided printing from single-sided. Change to grayscale instead of colored. Utilize the draft mode and shrink-to-fit mode to save more on ink. Rutgers University used this system to reduce the use of paper, and it gave them wonderful results where they were able to save 55 million sheets of paper in the first three years of implementation.    4. Reduce margins and font sizes Change the margins to 0.75 to 0.25 inches instead of the standard 1 inch to 1.25 inch. This can greatly affect the reduction of paper usage. Another tip is by using smaller fonts that is readable to utilize more space. You don’t need to follow the standard rule we use way back in college for formal documents. If you want to save on paper, make use of the space as much as possible.    5. Change fonts style Aside from using narrower margins and font sizes when printing, you can also change the font style that uses less ink. Like for example changing the Arial font to Century Gothic since the style is thinner. You can save ink and also money just by following this simple tips. Writing concisely can take up less space on the page too.   6. Opt for more digitize paper notes The way to support paperless offices is by using technology. You should think before you print something. Is the document you are about to print that important, or this can be sent online. It does make it easier for people to share documents online through emails, instant messaging and cloud storage. So opt for more digitize notes and documents and support the paperless community.   7. Awareness is the key Let your employees be aware of the importance of reducing paper use. State the benefits and implement changes accordingly by posting informative signs and having staff meetings about it. Let your employees be disciplined in reusing and recycling papers as much as possible. By educating them about the importance of paper reduction in your office, implementation would not be hard to follow. If your business requires printing various marketing materials such as business cards, leaflets, brochures, and many other things, you should hire a professional printing company to get a cost advantage. You can also get the finest quality printing as both designing is done by professionals and printed using the latest technologies. Read More: Investing In Machinery For A More Productive Business 5 Reasons Why You Should Invest In APM Top 4 Reasons To Outsource White Label PPC For Your Business How To Choose Best VOIP For Small Business 5 Marketing Tips To Help Grow Your Business On Instagram

READ MOREDetails
Effective Training Program

How to Create an Effective Company Training Program

There are different ways of investing in your company, and providing a Training Program for your employees is one of them. You could be training new or existing employees on new trends, but all this works when you have a strategic program. Effective training is more than just sharing information. This is an opportunity to expand the knowledge of your employees on certain matters. Leading companies in Dubai know that allowing employees to go for courses might delay projects; however, training is beneficial to both the organization and individuals. Why Training Programs are Beneficial for Your Company: Although these programs are costly, for instance, taking the employees from the office, the benefits outweigh the costs. Below are some of the reasons why you should consider a training program. Training increases your employees’ productivity and adherence to the quality standard of work in the departments. Trained workers are effective, and they rarely make common mistakes, they are consistent in their work, therefore, increasing productivity. These programs help the employees to improve their skills and eliminate problems before they escalate. It also helps the team to stay competitive. Corporate training in Dubai will help your staff to stay innovative; this boosts their creativity and helps the company to stay ahead of the competitors. Tips for Creating an Effective Training Program: The best way to create an effective training program is to start by developing a plan. The following steps will ensure that your training program is useful to your staff and company. Define the Goals and Measures of Success: Before starting the training, you ought to define the base of your program, for instance, the goals and how you will measure the outcome. First, you need to identify the departments or the staff that needs training. Developing a detailed plan for the employees helps you to create an effective program that suits their schedule and needs. After identifying the staff that needs training, you can go on to establish your business goals. You can include all the team-building activities for various departments. Create the Outline of your Program: After establishing your goals and team-building activities, the next step is to decide how to approach the content. Start with the outline and concentrate on the subject you want to address in the program. A simple way to choose a topic is by selecting the topic that suits the employees. Focus on the training goals and objectives. Decide on how you are going to present the training to the employees. Confirm that the audio, visual, and multimedia slideshows work. Create the Plan: To create an effective program, you need to define the learners’ objectives and focus on strengthening their weaknesses. The topic should include a significant area and how the program can help to solve or improve the problem. Choose appropriate team-building activities that help the staff to learn and improve their skills. Decide whether you want to use online resources for individuals or onsite; this depends on your budget. Engage the Audience: The program will only be successful if the learners are engaged. Ensure that your audience can understand and grasp each concept of the program. Confirm that each of them feels comfortable and confident in what they do. Divide the content into smaller parts for better understanding. This helps to avoid confusion and misinterpretation among the audience. Ensure that the learners understand that team-building activities are as important as the rest of the content. Conduct a Test: Before the program, you ought to conduct a pilot test to establish what works and what needs improvement. It is easier to fix the content at this stage rather than when the program is underway. You can even ask the participants to take a survey comment on what they think worked and suggest any improvements. Measure the Success of Your Program: The significance of measuring the success of your program is that it will help you to improve your current and future programs. Once the program is underway, you can start monitoring the engagement and the effectiveness of your program. Ensure that the team-building activities deliver the intended results. Translate the outcome into improvements that can benefit your program and the participants. Measuring the success of the program is as important as training. Conducting surveys and interviewing the workers and their supervisors help you find out whether the desired results were achieved. Ask the employees if they notice any changes after the program. Whether you are a startup or an established company, an effective training program is important for the company and the employees. Training enables the workers to remain innovative and confident in their departments. Remember to conduct a pilot test to improve weak areas and to update the program. Don’t forget to measure the success of your program; this helps to improve your future training. Read Also: Doing Business In The UAE: Pros And Cons Planning The Perfect Event Charter In Dubai 3 Ways To Boost Employee Engagement In Your Business

READ MOREDetails