When people speak of downtime for businesses, they’re usually referring to system outages. The business is unable to operate fully because their IT systems are not working correctly. However, there are other situations that prevent a business from functioning that you could also refer to as downtime. Something, such as the weather, might be making it difficult for your staff to make it to work. A power outage could leave your business in the dark. You could even be affected by downtime from a business partner, whose services are essential to your operation. Here’s how you can tackle these different situations to get your company back up and running.
Staff Can’t Get to Work
A couple of different things could prevent a good portion of your staff being unable to come to work. The first of them is weather, which can make roads unusable or even mean people can’t leave their homes. Many cities and municipalities will be prepared to deal with certain conditions and can make it safe for people to travel. However, unexpected weather events can cause travel problems. One way you can solve this problem is by allowing remote working if it’s possible. Your employees can get their work done at home and stay in contact via email, instant messaging or an app like Skype.
Power Outages
Another issue the weather could cause is power outages, which might also occur for other reasons. A power outage is a huge inconvenience which often means you need to shut your business down until the power is back on. It’s usually something you have no control over too, making it very frustrating. The first thing to do is find out the cause of the outage. It’s possible it is only affecting your business and could be solved with a phone call. However, the best plan is usually to wait for a little. If the power doesn’t come back on, sending everyone home or relocating to elsewhere could be a way for everyone to get their work done.
System Outages
Sometimes all your lights are on, but you’re having computer issues. If everything crashes, you could be frightened that valuable data has been destroyed. Luckily you can protect your business with data disaster recovery services by Infrascale and similar companies. You don’t have to worry about any issues causing long-term damage to your business. It’s essential to have a plan for disaster recovery to protect your business. Having a network of computers in a benefit to your company but it has its risks too.
Downtime for a Business Partner
It can also be an issue when a service you use experiences its own downtime. Perhaps the graphic designer you use has no internet connection, or your booking software isn’t working. When this happens, a call to the right person is sometimes necessary to ensure they know what’s happening. While you’re waiting for a fix, you might have to let customers know what’s going on so they know you’ll be back up and running soon.
Various events can affect the running of your business. When something brings it to a halt, you should have a plan in place to deal with it.