Upgrading equipment, investing in virtualisation and management software are crucial business tools for reducing risk
In today's rapidly developing technological world, IT has become not just a support arm for small businesses - it has become a fixture of their operations and a crucial business resource, one whose functionality could be worth millions of dollars.
According to a recent report from IDC, system downtime is one of the most important issues facing businesses of all sizes.
"System downtime can result in disrupted business processes, lower productivity, and reduced cycle times and activity rates," said the report. "It also can cause employees to become frustrated with their inability to access key applications and data. But employees are not the only ones affected by downtime; unfortunately, in today's web-enabled businesses, customers are, too."
The report found that the average midsize organisation experienced 10.9 hours of disrupted service each year - resulting in approximately US$1 million in lost revenue.
To help keep IT systems a business resource instead of a business risk, IDC advised companies to invest in management software, upgrade their IT equipment, consider high-availability failover clustering software, and deploy virtualisation software.
