The Real Cost of an Internet Outage

You don't have to look very hard to find mind-boggling statistics about how fast the VoIP market has grown. Especially since 2020. Hosted VoIP grew 26% that year alone, and the global VoIP market is expected to reach $102.5 billion by 2026! There are hundreds of articles and blogs touting the affordability, flexibility, and reliability of VoIP.  

But what so many providers, and businesses, overlook is the one thing every VoIP solution needs: reliable internet service. Because if your internet goes down, it might cost you far more than your business communications.  

The Cost of an Internet Outage: Finances

Let's start by examining the financial cost of an internet outage – which isn't insignificant. The most recent data from Statista indicated that the average cost of downtime ranges from $300,000 to $400,000 per hour. Additionally, a 2019 ITIC study said that 1 out of every 3 organizations reported that one hour of downtime can cost them millions.  

Of course, the fiscal impact on your business may not be in the millions. The financial cost of an internet outage will depend on a wide variety of factors like the size of your company, the time of year, how many customers you service per day, etc.  

If you're interested in calculating the specific cost yourself, we've found a simple formula to follow:

Hourly Cost of Downtime = Hourly Lost Revenue [how much you normally sell in an hour] + Hourly Labor Cost [average hourly labor cost] + Hourly Recovery Costs [cost of restoring services] + Hourly Indirect Costs [estimated cost to your brand]

The Cost of an Internet Outage: Service Impact

Businesses don't just use the internet to support VoIP phone systems. They use it to support accounting software, customer service portals, CRM tools, and so much more. So, when the internet is knocked out, those services are knocked out too. Customers won't receive the support they need. Bills won't be sent out. Your IT and sales teams won't be able to access the information they need to help your customers. In short – every single aspect of your business will be affected if you're unable to access the internet. This is why it's crucial to think ahead and have systems in place in case of an internet outage.  

The Cost of an Internet Outage: An Ounce of Prevention

At this point, you're probably wondering what you can do to mitigate the effects of an internet outage. We've got a few suggestions listed below:

LTE Backups

If you're just starting out, or have less than twenty employees, sometimes your biggest concern is cost. In those cases, we recommend starting with LTE failover. This strategy involves utilizing an LTE data plan, like those used by smartphones, as a lifeline in case of an internet outage. While the speed and data transfer may not be as fast as your main line, it will work in a pinch and keep your communications and mission-critical services up and running.

This kind of backup is especially helpful if you have mobile-ready VoIP solutions and organizational tools. Your employees can simply work off their smartphones until your main source of internet connectivity is restored.

Enterprise-Level Internet Services

This option applies to growing businesses with more than twenty employees. As you expanded, you might've been tempted to invest in a slower internet connection to save money. And doing so will save you money initially, but it'll cost you far more in the future. You'll battle slow connectivity and frequent outages on a monthly, sometimes weekly, basis. And the cost of an internet outage far exceeds the cost of faster, more reliable internet services.  

Here are a few key features to look for when searching for the best internet provider:

1. Proactive network monitoring. This will enable your IT team, and theirs, to anticipate any glitches or system malfunctions that could lead to an internet outage. Ideally, this would come at no extra cost to you.
2. Built-in redundancy. The best internet service providers (ISPs) will have internet connections with built-in redundancy. This means that if one connection to the internet goes down, another is ready to pick up the slack in a matter of seconds.  
3. Customizable connectivity. Not every business can afford the latest and greatest connections. Be sure your ISP is willing to work with you on how to keep your connectivity without breaking your budget.  
   

Load-Balancing with SD-Wan

SD-WAN stands for Software-defined Wide Area Network. It's a virtual network that lets you utilize any combination of services to connect to the internet – MPLS, LTE, broadband, you name it! Instead of clogging up one line, SD-WAN intelligently routes all internet activity to the appropriate connections. This is often referred to as "load-balancing." This is especially helpful if one of the connections goes out. SD-WAN automatically re-balances traffic to account for the loss using the internet options available.

If that sounds a bit too technical for you, don't worry! The best ISPs will set up and manage your SD-WAN service for you – no complicated technical terms required.

Tierzero: We've Got Your Back (Up)

At Tierzero, we know how important reliable internet is to a business. Which is why we've got all the solutions you might need to avoid the exorbitant cost of an internet outage! From our 4G LTE backup plans to our managed SD-WAN solutions, we've got something for everyone. And each solution, big or small, comes with dedicated, 24/7 tech support from our team of experts.  

So, what are you waiting for? Contact us today to start experiencing the Tierzero difference for yourself!

‍