The need for online backup and disaster recovery plans has been highlighted yet again by a new study, reported Data Center Knowledge. The Ponemon Institute partnered with Emerson Network Power to conduct a survey regarding unplanned data center outages.
Unsurprisingly, data center outages rack up expensive bills for businesses without recovery methods in place. In fact, the cost of downtime has increased 41 percent since 2010. On average, the study found that the cost per minute of unexpected data downtime rings in at $7,900.
Data outages were not a foreign occurrence for survey respondents, as 91 percent of participants claimed to have experienced unplanned data outages within the past two years.
Your company can lose some serious cash due to data center outages.Highly valued business functions translate to higher outage costs
The study credited the price hike to the increased value of data centers to businesses. High-end business operations have now been delegated to IT systems and as such a loss of data or digital function can be crippling to a company.
“Given the fact that today’s data centers support more critical, interdependent devices and IT systems than ever before, most would expect a rise in the cost of an unplanned data center outage compared to 2010,” said Chairman and Founder of the Ponemon Institute Larry Ponemon, according to Data Center Knowledge. “However, the 41 percent increase was higher than expected. This increase in cost underscores the importance for organizations to make it a priority to minimize the risk of downtime that can potentially cost thousands of dollars per minute.”
The cost of data outages obviously varies depending on the industry. The study determined that businesses with “revenue models that depend on the data center’s ability to deliver IT and networking services to customers” incur much higher costs than the study’s estimated average.
For a single event, the highest reported cost totaled over $1.7 million, explained Data Center Knowledge.
Industry-specific increases and general findings
The hospitality industry saw the largest increase in cost per minute of unplanned data center downtime with a 129 percent spike. The public sector followed at second place with 116 percent inflation. Fourth and fifth were the transportation industry and media organizations at 108 percent and 104 percent rises, respectively.
The numbers are alarming considering the magnitude of these individual industries. The pricing ranges can vary based on partial or total data outages but even a small outage incident can deliver a considerable blow to any company.
When it came to total data center outages, the average recovery time clocked in at just less than two hours. However, this still incurred costs of around $901,500. Partial outages averaged out at 56 minutes total with typical costs totaling to $350,400.
“Cloud backup service providers take the data protection wheel for your company.”
The necessity of a BDR service provider
These high reported costs may not be so surprising when you consider the number of companies without protocol in place for data outages. A recent study found 46 percent of businesses don’t have a disaster recovery plan in place, according to IT Pro Portal.
Companies that face data crises unprepared run the risk of considerable loss. When every minute of downtime costs $7,900, you are in a race against the clock. This is where online backup and disaster recovery services can be your business’s new best friend.
Cloud backup service providers take the data protection wheel for your company. From backup solutions to disaster recovery options, companies can safeguard their information. The options span from remote backup to offsite backup to a combination of both. Companies can also make decisions regarding what level of protection individual data needs. This can be a crucial cost-saving tool – make sure your most vital information is readily accessible to minimize total company downtime.
“As data centers continue to evolve to support businesses and organizations that are becoming more social, mobile and cloud-based, there is an increasing need for a growing number of companies and organizations to make it a priority to minimize the risk of downtime and commit the necessary investment in infrastructure technology and resources,” explained Vice President of Emerson Network Power Peter Panfil, according to Data Center Knowledge. “This report gives these organizations the data they need to support more informed business decisions regarding the cost associated with eliminating vulnerabilities compared to the costs associated with not taking action.”
Make sure your company is not susceptible to the high risks of data outage downtime. Cloud backup is definitely a tool you want in your company arsenal.
