Just a few months ago, in July of this year (2024), a global network outage hit countless businesses around the world – resulting in shut down systems, grounded planes and disrupted emergency services.
It was all down to cyber security firm CrowdStrike, whose latest Windows update contained a defect that crashed systems and left them with a ‘blue screen error’. Microsoft revealed that over 8.5 million devices were affected – and the company is still recovering.
This kind of outage can (and does) happen to any business. What counts is your mitigation and recovery planning, which can not only get you back on track more quickly if an outage hits, but can help you avoid one altogether.
Today, our IT consultants look at ways to navigate network outages and recover quickly – pulling back the curtain on how to plan, what to prioritise, where to improve and the key reasons to invest in this area as a managed IT service.
What is a network outage?
A network outage is where there’s any kind of disruption to your network – whether it’s a matter of seconds or over a longer period, and whether it’s a complete or partial failure. Put simply, if there’s a problem with the connection somewhere, a network outage could be to blame.
According to internet service provider Beaming, businesses around the UK experienced 8.8 million internet failures and 50.5 million hours of disruption in 2023 alone – and all the signs point to a growing problem.
How do I navigate a network outage?
As an IT managed services provider, there are 5 steps we’d suggest for navigating network outages:
1. Plot: Identify where the problem is. It could be anything from a hardware failure to a system bug, network overload or even human error. And, of course, damage to infrastructure or components can also be a cause.
2. Scope: Map out how big it is, and who it’s affecting. It might have been a temporary loss of connection, with little disruption, or you might be faced with a more serious issue – like a communications blackout. To paraphrase the ICO: unpick the number of affected users, duration of the outage, geographical spread, and the extent/impact of the disruption.Â
3. Remedy: Assign support on a priority basis, and try to restore what you can. While Aurora Technologies can help with all of these concerns, implementing solutions is where many businesses need that extra support.
4. Log: Note the issue(s) and fix(es) as learnings for next time – such as for use in future employee training scenarios.
How do I prevent a network outage?
Here are 3 actions our IT consultants recommend:
1. Train: Invest in training for all your users – regularly. This includes past learnings, and shouldn’t just be limited to your business (consider our CrowdStrike example from earlier).
2. Maintain: Routinely check systems and equipment for problems. You might need to carry out audits to check performance capabilities are up to scratch, and roll-out patches or fixes. For hardware, ensure you’re replacing or repairing component parts as needed.
3. Remediate: Back up your data as often as you can, and invest in Cloud storage.
In the words of our IT managed services experts, prevention is always better than cure. By having the above steps in place, you can greatly reduce the damage an outage could do, as well as prevent one from happening in the first place.
Why should I account for network outages in my budget?
Because the faster (and easier) it is for you to get systems back up and running, the better it is for your business, employees and customers. If recovery is slow or difficult, not only do you face increasing risks to data, reputation and finances but you could also face fines – and even prosecution – by the ICO.
Where do I start with preventing outages?
Turn to Aurora. Our Leicester IT managed services experts can pinpoint problems, proactively fix them and even remedy network outages if they happen. Get in touch with our IT consultants in Leicester by emailing hello@aurora.uk.net or visiting our LinkedIn business page.
