How much does it cost you?
“A typical employee
would lose an
average 6% of
their time per day
due to technology
problems.”
Cornerstone managing director
Chris Petty asks if burying
your head in the sand when it
comes to IT issues is really the
most cost-effective practice…
A
recent survey revealed that UK
companies are losing £35 billion per
year in productivity due to IT failures.
The report found that a typical employee
would lose an average 6% of their time
per day due to technology problems. That
equates to 27 minutes per day, 2.5 hours per
week and more than one working day per
month.
Depending on the size of your business
and its pay structure, it’s quite a simple
calculation to work out what all this costs
your business in monetary terms.
While technology issues hurt workplaces
in terms of productivity and bottom line
costs, they also damage the quality of the
work and in some cases have caused their
customers to complain.
So how can we reduce this and increase
productivity?
Over the last 12 months, the top three
IT issues workers experienced were slow
running systems and equipment, connection
failures and outdated software
We’ve all heard the term “If it ain’t broke,
don’t fix it”. But what if it ain’t broke but is
outdated and slow? That’s exactly what too
many of us do on Teesside. We’re running
old, out-of-date software quite simply
because we don’t like change. Running out-
of-date software may not be a problem for
your business right now. You might be getting
away with it. But keeping up to date ensures
consistency and covers us in terms of cyber
security.
The problem is, of course, that failure
to update comes at a price. New software
doesn’t link with another application
so there’s now a need to upgrade two
applications. Then it doesn’t like our old
hardware so we have to upgrade our servers.
Sometimes we’re forced into an upgrade, as
Microsoft withdraw the support and updates
on old applications, leaving us with no choice.
The only real way forward is to have an
annual IT budget, rather than relying on a big,
expensive overhaul every three-to-five years.
Steady, constant change is always best. If
you work out the cost of lost productivity,
downtime and customer complaints if you
continue to make do, I guarantee you’ll agree
with me on this!
CORNERSTONE BUSINESS SOLUTIONS LTD
MAP HOUSE, 3 GEORGE STEPHENSON COURT, OFF WESTLAND WAY,
PRESTON FARM, STOCKTON-ON-TEES, TS18 3TG
So my advice is to keep up to date with
technology changes and utilise the Cloud
for things such as email.
That covers out-of-date software and
slow running systems. But what about
connection failures?
Unfortunately, no broadband suppliers
offer service level agreements,
guaranteeing certain standards. We also
know that many areas of Teesside have
poor internet speeds. The only real way
forward is installing a leased line. This
means guaranteed speeds, a four-hour fix
and, if required, a broadband failover.
Of course, leased lines come at a cost
when compared to your broadband but I
think you’ll be surprised at how much costs
have come down. And did you know there
are grants available?
Finally, you need a good IT support
company to offer the correct advice and
implement the changes your business
needs. Hint, hint!
PHONE 0845 223 2400
EMAIL [email protected]
WEB
cornerstonebs.co.uk