All business owners are aware that downtime is detrimental to productivity, but few recognise the true extent to which it can harm their organisation. It’s important to remember that downtime can affect your business far more than that actual hours your network is physically down, impacting larger, big picture things like retention, profits and growth potential. Here are four areas where downtime has been known to harm businesses:
1. Productivity
When downtime strikes, usually the first thing to be affected is productivity. Immediately, staff are unable to do their jobs properly, leading to inefficiencies, a higher chance of errors and often, panic. Think about it – if you have 100 staff relying on your server, one day of downtime means 800 hours of compromised productivity – a severe financial loss. Plus, this has also been known to affect company morale. People like to leave work feeling like they’ve worked hard and achieved something in their day. When they don’t, many feel frustrated, annoyed and stressed. Remember – an unsatisfied team is an unproductive one, which is why efficient infrastructure is key to productivity.
2. Repair and compensation
When you’re experiencing downtime, the fastest and most effective solution to getting you back up and running is not usually the cheapest. For example; trying to organize professional help on short notice is expensive and time-consuming. Plus, to catch up on lost productivity, staff are often stuck doing work outside of scheduled hours, leading to additional overtime expenses. These costs are taken straight out of profit margins, leaving businesses unable to invest in new ventures that could help them grow. By cutting out these additional expenses, installing quality communications infrastructure will pay for itself in the long run.
3. Customer experience
In today’s extremely competitive market, customer experience is everything. When service is efficient, we perceive brands to run with equal efficiency, leading to improved trust and heightened customer retention. On the other hand, when service is slow, we tend to feel negatively about the whole organization, leading to poor retention and loss of clients. Downtime harms customer experience, leaving consumers feeling dissatisfied and unloved, straining relationships with customers that may have taken years to build.
4. Future opportunities
While reliable communications networks might have a price tag, the opportunity costs of downtime are even more expensive. Companies that constantly experience communications issues struggle to meet demands, harming opportunities to grow and innovate in the long run. On the other hand, companies with sustainable network infrastructure enjoy greater productivity and efficiency across their organisation, placing them in a better position to innovate, grow and tackle business challenges with confidence.
Ready to ditch down time, boost your productivity and supercharge your profits? Investing in a reliable and efficient communications solution will transform your organisation, pushing you into the future and ahead of your industry. NCIS can help your business grow with highly scalable, effective communications infrastructure. To learn more about the advantages of installing an award-winning Gigabit Passive Optical Network (GPON) solution, enquire now or give us a call on 1800 NCIS GROUP.
