Don’t Let Server Crashes Ruin Your Business
As a business owner, it’s easy to forget about your servers as they quietly run in the background. But as soon as a server crashes, everything suddenly comes to a screeching halt. Do you know how to prevent server crashes from ruining your business?
The Severity of a Server Crash
A crashed server leads to IT downtime, which Is costly in multiple regards. This includes both direct/tangible costs, as well as indirect/intangible costs. These consequences include:
- Lost sales and revenues
- IT recovery costs
- Penalties and fees
- Lost inventory
- Overtime wages
- Bad publicity
- Loss of business opportunities
- Diminished trust with customers
- Damage to the brand
- Loss of customers to the competition
According to one industry survey of 200 companies, small businesses lose, on average, more than $55,000 in revenue per year as a result of IT failures and server crashes. In large organizations, Gartner suggests that IT downtime costs an average of $5,600 every 60 seconds.
Tips for Preventing Costly Server Crashes
In other words, server crashes are a big deal. Even a single crash has the ability to wipe out your company’s foundation. Thus, you have to be proactive in how you prevent them. Here are some suggestions:
Prevent Electrical Interruptions
Electrical interruptions can seriously disrupt your IT infrastructure and cause servers to crash. All it takes is a simple power surge or tiny disruption and things collapse. You can minimize or avoid complications by:
- Using an uninterrupted power supply (UPS)
- Properly securing power cords
- Letting maintenance people know precisely where vital hardware is kept
By reducing the risk of electrical interruption, you significantly lower your chances of experiencing a server crash. However, there are also plenty of other steps you’ll need to take.
Keep Servers Cool
Server rooms can get hot! And though some heat is to be expected, too much can lead to serious consequences. In 2013, Hotmail lost its server for a whopping 16 hours because of a sudden heat spike. (This occurred despite the fact that they had technology in place to keep machines cool).
The server room needs to be kept between 68 and 71 degrees Fahrenheit. Anything above 80 degrees could put your servers at risk. Invest in the right technology and conduct regular tests and inspections to ensure everything is working as it should be.
Continually Update Hardware
Computer hardware doesn’t last forever – especially when it’s required to handle constant workloads. As a general rule of thumb, you can expect server hardware to last four to six years. A failure to replace hardware before it reaches this point could put your uptime in danger.
Make Sure You Have the Right Host
Website traffic overload is one of the more common causes of server crashes. And while a high amount of traffic is typically the goal for businesses, too much within a short window of time can spell disaster.
Whether it’s a sudden sale or unexpected publicity, you need a scalable server that’s able to handle unforeseen spikes in traffic. Otherwise, your servers will crash and you’ll miss out on revenue and engagement.
This is why it’s important to choose a good host. The right hosting company will support any amount of traffic and eliminate the risk of serious server failure and other related issues.
Invest in the Right Cybersecurity Defenses
In today’s day and age, you have to be prepared for anything. This includes hackers, cybersecurity breaches, and even internal threats. A failure to account for these elements could allow your servers to become compromised.
If you’re not careful, viruses can take down your servers. These viruses could lead to days or weeks of downtime, which may be enough to put you out of business. Once again, this is why it’s important to use the right host and to implement the proper security system and adequate monitoring. Doing so will help you safeguard sensitive data and keep the business operational.
Do You Have a Plan?
The majority of server crashes can be prevented with a little proactive planning and attention to detail. Don’t wait until a crash starts costing your business revenue and reputation. Now’s the time to perfect systems and processes that prioritize uptime across the board.