The True Cost of Downtime – And How to Avoid It
Imagine your business comes to a halt for just one hour.
No email. No files. No systems. No sales.
For many businesses, that’s not just frustrating — it’s expensive.
At Beyond, we help organisations understand that downtime isn’t just an IT issue — it’s a business risk with real financial, operational, and reputational consequences.
What Does Downtime Actually Cost?
It depends on your industry, team size, and the nature of the outage — but here are some ballpark figures:
Pingdom suggests an average range of £1800 to £7000 per minute as the potential cost of downtime across all types of businesses.
Lost productivity from a full day of downtime for a 10-person company can easily exceed £1,500+
Customer churn and lost sales can compound the damage
Your brand reputation takes a hit if customers experience delays or disruption
It’s not just about money — it’s about momentum, trust, and business continuity.
Common Causes of Downtime
Most outages are preventable. These are the biggest culprits we see:
Outdated or unpatched systems
Servers not protected by a UPS system
Broadband lines without a backup connection
Poor backup and disaster recovery planning
Cyberattacks like ransomware
Failing hardware or networks
Misconfigured cloud environments
Reactive IT support that’s too slow to respond
Downtime and Cybersecurity: A Growing Risk
Cybersecurity incidents are now a leading cause of downtime.
A single phishing email or unpatched vulnerability can lead to:
Data loss
Reputation loss
Network lockouts
Regulatory penalties
Days (or weeks) of recovery
That's why Cyber Essentials recommends proactive security controls like:
Timely patching
Malware protection
Access control
Backups and business continuity
Beyond helps clients meet and exceed these standards — so that when threats do occur, they don’t become disasters.
How We Help You Avoid Downtime
Our managed services are built around prevention and resilience, including:
24/7 system monitoring
Regular patching and updates
Backup and disaster recovery (with recovery time objectives)
Redundancy and cloud continuity
Endpoint security and threat detection
Strategic IT planning to reduce single points of failure
We don’t just help you get back online — we make sure you stay online.
Real Talk: You Can't Afford NOT to Plan
Downtime can hit anyone — and it doesn’t always come from external threats. Internal mistakes or neglected systems are just as dangerous.
Planning ahead with resilient IT infrastructure, regular testing, and strategic support is the smartest move you can make.
Final Word
If your business doesn’t have a downtime prevention plan, now’s the time.
Plan for the worst, guarantee the best
Let’s talk about how we can help you avoid costly outages, improve your resilience, and give you peace of mind — whatever comes your way.