How to Keep Network Downtime Low at Your Business

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January 3, 2023 Business

There is no doubt that when you are running a business, you need to be doing all that you can to ensure that any downtime is kept to an absolute minimum. Otherwise, you can easily end up in a situation in which you are missing out on valuable business hours, which can have a serious knock-on effect on your bottom-line profit margins, and this is something that you want to avoid at all costs.

One of the biggest causes of downtime can be a result of any network shortcomings that are currently in place. If you can keep network downtime low, this is going to be a major plus point. Ultimately, the more prep work that you put in place, the more that you will be able to reduce the odds of anything going wrong. So, here are a few of the main steps that you can take to keep your network downtime as low as it possibly can be. Continue reading to learn more.

Conduct Both an Internal and External Analysis

To begin with, you can get a full and proper assessment of the situation that you are currently in. This means analysing what is going on from both an internal and an external perspective. There are likely to be a few potential points of failure that you can identify and can then seek to strengthen. You should look closely at the current maintenance system that you have in place and work out if any improvements can be made to it. It’s important to be objective here as there is usually room for improvement.

This means analysing all internal parts as a starting point. This includes a vast array of parts including cabling, routers, network servers, and power supplies. As for the external analysis, there are internet gateways, cloud services, and so on. You may need a tool, such as a PDN analyzer, to work out exactly what is going on. Ultimately, there is no point in just waiting until a problem occurs. Taking the necessary preventative steps before it gets to this stage can make all the difference to your company. If there ever is a problem, you should be ready to take some quick action to ensure that it does not start to spiral out of control for any reason.

Ensure You Are Using High-Quality Equipment

It may seem like an obvious enough point to make, but it is always going to be worthwhile ensuring that you are using the type of high-quality equipment that is less likely to go wrong and encounter a whole range of potential problems along the way. If you are thinking about cutting some corners and some costs along the way, you should certainly be aware of the very real potential that it could all easily end up backfiring on you. You should also be prepared to make all of the necessary upgrades and updates, as and when they are required.

In the modern world, with the vast array of high-quality tech that is now readily available, you may find that you do not have to spend as much as you had initially thought on the best quality equipment. A good example of this is the fiber optic cables out there that allow you to have a much faster internet connection. You also do not want a cheaper router that could easily end up failing at exactly the time that you do not want it to.

Put in Place a Redundant Network Connection

Despite its misleading name, it can safely be said that a redundant network connection is anything but. It is there whenever you may need it to provide the type of quick changeover that cannot be found in other situations. There are some companies in which a continuous connection is one of the most essential features out there, with any small minutes of downtime having a potentially catastrophic impact on the company as a whole. This is often found in many companies that specialise in retail and need continuous sales – particularly during the busier times of the year out there.

Not only is there the risk of lost sales, but there is also the potential that business reputational harm could well occur. With a redundant network connection, you will be able to switch to a different carrier or ISP, which will happen when a significant slowdown is detected. Ultimately, this is a useful plan B that can provide you with a great deal of peace of mind.

Have a Backup Power Connection

Another one of the useful steps that you have the option of taking is to ensure that you have a backup power connection that you are always going to be ready to call upon as and when you may need it. In some locations, significant power outages can end up being something of a common occurrence, which is why it is always going to be worth having that plan B firmly in place. The power supply will automatically transfer to a battery, which means that the user is not going to notice any sort of interruption.

Ultimately, this can end up helping to ensure that any unsaved data is not going to be at serious risk of being lost. Of course, there are going to be some places in which this solution is going to be much more valuable – and even necessary – than others.

Go for Cloud-Based Network Management

Another one of the main options that you have in front of you is provided by switching to a system of network management that is cloud-based. Ultimately, this is going to provide a wide range of different advantages, including the ability to manage your network from a remote capacity. If you are running a company that operates with people working from home, this can make all the difference.

All these are among the different steps that you can take on to ensure that any network downtime at your business is kept as low as possible.