How to Reduce the Annual Costs Caused by IT Service Outages

DBA ExpertsFeatured

 

Any modern software application uses data. And databases, or DB, are the most common way to manage and store that data. DBs are the cornerstone in the world, especially with the explosion of web and cloud technologies.

SQL Server has system capabilities, and hackers utilize this. If they breach the network, which other cyber security solutions try to avoid, AimBetter can identify access to DB and violations – we believe that no other system generates an alert that is not registered in the login.

Some of the most significant breaches have occurred this way. Once any access is provided to the database- hackers can almost do everything.

We identify illegitimate access to the DB level even if a hacker managed to breach the network.

1. Business Continuity

Companies take backup and recovery seriously. However, there may be instances where it could be hard to tell or detect if any data was lost.

Developers might ignore or overlook some syntax errors if data is not registered. With the many automated processes, they could not possibly monitor all of them, especially if the error didn’t manifest until the code was compiled and executed. But, using a tool like AimBetter solves this issue as it checks that each command is successfully carried out, preventing data loss.

AimBetter can detect the occurrence of an exception within seconds because it monitors hundreds of processes inside the SQL engine in real-time.

2. Competent IT Staff and System

Every business structure has an IT system, with a team overseeing every network operation and troubleshooting back-end issues. Naturally, this team is expected to be on top of downtime problems, and typically this team needs a DBA, which is a costly resource for SMBs. The data they receive from network activities might just be the key to combating the cost-of-service outages. Understanding such data provides the company with knowledge on how to handle downtime with minimal loss.

Having a reliable IT system paired with a competent team is the dream for any company. However, according to our latest survey, the quality of IT performance has fallen short over time. 

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Given this fact, providing the appropriate time to find the best IT system, and training a team on how they’re expected to function is the best way to secure high-quality IT performance. Hastily investing in the wrong system and people will hurt the company.

Companies today, more than ever, are based on the data world, and it is becoming more critical to provide the IT staff tools to identify problems independently without DBA.

Many of the problems are associated with the application (such as those of ERP systems) or user actions or background processes that are running – everything takes longer time – which users cannot accept.

The complaints first land on the IT person’s desk, and he starts talking to all stakeholders (Developers, System, DBA, App responsible). In this long process, everyone tries to divert the problem to other colleagues or professionals. This harms the productivity of the employees, the brand name and resolution time are longer and more costly.

AimBetter includes a thorough DB monitoring tool that enables IT personnel and CIOs get a detailed picture of DB performance metrics, errors, and issues that could be or cause potential problems, and alerts on suspicious activities as soon as they are detected, before they would cause downtimes, and along with its service/support package it fills the gap of a DBA in much more cost-effective manner.

Hence, using a solution like AimBetter is more cost-effective and productive for the team.

3. Reliable Internet Connection

Today, most systems are based on IIS services to open channels with external systems. It’s not enough to check the resources on the server (processing and memory consumption) – which is what the IT person typically does. 

AimBetter can show the IT guy what’s happening inside the IIS and see errors and latency. If something is wrong, with AimBetter you can tell which screen/page or process the problem comes from – we provide them this visibility- to see what is running in the IIS.

This way, they can tell their application vendor exactly where the issues reside so that the vendor will acknowledge responsibility and know where and how to fix the problem. It provides the IT staff visibility and strength when approaching their vendor.

4. Up-to-date Equipment

Together with an upgraded internet connection, swapping old technology with up-to-date equipment is a great solution to avoid service outages. It will be considerably expensive at first, but it can lessen expenses in the long run. A lot of outdated equipment isn’t compatible with modern network systems. They would need service upgrades or additional features that can cost more than purchasing new equipment.

Migrating to newer software systems can also enhance a company’s performance, pushing operations to become faster. Invest in a monitoring system such as AimBetter to easily detect weaknesses and vulnerabilities before they turn into serious roadblocks for the company. AimBetter can determine the source of the problem, and if it’s equipment/HW reasons or not. This way, you can promptly and act accurately and accordingly.

5. Secure Recovery and Preventive Plan

While service outages can be the death of many business operations, deliberately planning downtime can help out a company. Unscheduled downtime or unexpected service outage can be caused by:

  • Human error
  • Outdated equipment and software
  • Server bugs
  • Hardware failures
  • Incorrect configurations
  • Understaffed IT departments
  • Power outages
  • Incompatible changes
  • Natural disasters

No matter the reason, a sudden outage can put a company’s image at stake.

On the other hand, scheduled downtime can boost a company’s performance. Ensure that this won’t affect operations by choosing a time that’s usually slow for customers and employees alike. Also, announcing it beforehand significantly prevents complaints. 

Doing a planned downtime allows the company to pinpoint what needs to be improved and what needs to be changed. So, come up with the best practices to build a solid preventive and recovery plan.

As part of your preventive plan, you can refer to this formula on how to calculate downtime costs:

Downtime cost = minutes of downtime x cost-per-minute

Small businesses mostly use $427 as their cost-per-minute. Meanwhile, medium and large businesses use $9,000.

6. Well-trained Employees

Nowadays, IT employees frequently change jobs, and it is becoming more challenging to retain the organizational knowledge on the IT issues and systems that they are responsible. This way, the organization is subject to instability due to often new inexperienced employees that replaced the previous ones. 

There is also no time to carry out structured onboarding of new employees as it takes a lot of time to find new employees, and by the time they are found, the previous ones have already left their company. It’s getting harder to rely on volatile manpower. Automation is required to cover this gap—and this is exactly what AimBetter does. 

It replaces many tasks that, in the past, relied on employees. It works behind the scenes, is stable, always stays with the organization, and saves time. It empowers less experienced employees and even those who are less professional to do the job of more experienced ones, cover more issues that they need to support, and thus ensure that the performance of IT systems will be higher.

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7. Cybersecurity

Many cyber security solutions focus on detecting intrusion and attempting to attack and hack passwords.

Few solutions can identify a failed attempt to access the database with limited permission.

According to the growing ZERO TRUST approach, there are a few companies that secure the DATABASE LEVEL from inside, document it, and warn about unauthorized access.

AimBetter improves Your Business by Preventing Future Service Outages

As the saying goes, “Prevention is better than cure.” Identifying potential issues rather than waiting for them to arise and then looking for solutions can be costly and time-consuming. Having IT systems in place might not be enough to solve service outages that suddenly emerge out of the blue. To enhance a company’s IT performance, looking at monitoring systems for assistance is always a great idea.

AimBetter provides a practical and hands-on solutions to turn around low performance for the better. It maintains database performance that helps a company save time and money in the long run. This system’s rapid problem identification keeps a company from making damaging mistakes. Overall, it boosts company performance by targeting problems at the root.

    Learn more how you can solve IT systems performance issues faster.



      Learn more how you can solve IT systems performance issues faster.



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