(Akiit.com) If you’re a business owner, then you already know the importance of IT. It’s impossible to ignore the hold that IT tends to have on modern businesses. From processing sales to managing overall business productivity, IT is the lifeblood of a modern business operation.
However, it’s also an area of business that can fall victim to a huge number of errors. As helpful as IT is, we’ve all had moments when a system is down right when we need to use it, or a program doesn’t work as it’s should and tasks get missed. Most business owners see these kinds of events as an irritation, but could they actually be damaging on a financial level?
They can— read on to find out how…
#1 – Lost productivity
Let’s say that your IT system is a little temperamental. It should take you two minutes to collect together data on the most recent sales that have been processed, but it actually ends up taking four, as your IT system has a small meltdown in the process.
Well, no big deal, it’s only two minutes— what harm can it do?
In isolation, not a lot. It’s a minor inconvenience. However, if your IT system is persistently problematic to the point where tasks tend to take longer than they have to, then that time will quickly begin to add up. Two minutes once per day, over the course of a year, becomes over eight hours— essentially another working day. Multiply that issue across a number of employees and processes, and your glitchy IT system begins to be a real liability.
#2 – Unexpected bills
Any sensible business owner knows that they have to keep one eye on their budget at all times. The more money you spend, the lower your profit margin; it’s a basic tenet of business.
However, many business owners choose to gamble on their IT system, and it’s a gamble that doesn’t pay off. If your system isn’t well maintained, then the potential for calamity is huge, and the cost of the fix is even larger still. Having to rectify IT faults is always more expensive than preventing them from occurring, and your budget is going to be severely impacted should this become necessary.
It’s far more budget-friendly to opt for proactive network maintenance for your IT system via managed services rather than just waiting for something to go wrong. The sooner you identify the problem, the better.
#3 – Vanishing customers
If you sell goods or services online, you have to be mindful of customer patience. While customers can handle small tech hitches, if your site isn’t running as it should, they’re unlikely to wait for a fix. Instead, they will take their business elsewhere. The same applies if you want to, for example, give a quote to a potential customer but can’t access the calculation software in your IT system due to glitches.
The result of this is simple: lost customers, which means lost revenue.
In conclusion
IT glitches and problems can cost far more than a frayed temper. By ensuring you have the right systems in place to navigate the potential issues as described above, you can be confident your business will always able to operate exactly as it should.
Staff Writer; Carl Shaw