Failure is Not an Option: Getting Rid of Single Points of Failure
You might think that your business is going to be OK even if a single device goes down. After all, there are other devices your employees can use. Itโs not as if the entire system is going to fall like dominoes. Or is it? Get rid of single points of failure to make sure one vulnerability doesnโt take down your network.
A single point of failure (SPOF) can be a design, implementation, or configuration weakness. Without proper design considerations, unintentional SPOFs may be introduced into computing environments.
Yet, cybercriminals donโt need super powers to target IT fatal weaknesses. SPOFs for technology include:
- Having only one server that runs an essential application. Without that server, your employees canโt use that particular business tool.
- Solution: Plan for the worst with built-in server redundancy. Have multiples of any hardware that is business critical. Consider a standby backup server or migrate to the cloud so you can continue accessing applications, software, and storage.
- Power outages can wreak havoc on computers and devices operating your network.
- Solution: An Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) can help prevent intermittent power interruptions to your computers, switches, and routers. Cloud solutions can reduce the risk of this problem too. Employees can continue to access data and software while working at remote locations.
- Your physical location could also be the SPOF. What if road closures, fire, floods, or a violent storm prevent you from being able to get to the office? Without a backup plan, youโll struggle for business continuity.
- Solution: Utilize remote-accessible computer resources in the cloud (servers, storage, applications, and voice services). This provides continued access anywhere, anytime, and often from any device.
- Sorry to say it, but your people could also be your fatal weakness. Perhaps you have one or even two in-house IT experts who know everything about your technology. But, what do you do if they both quit? Or one is sick and the other is on vacation when something goes wrong?
- Solution: You canโt have every person become a subject matter expert on all aspects of IT. Consider outsourced IT.
- You canโt get online without an internet connection. Yet youโre reliant on an external provider for that access. Planned downtime for maintenance is easier to work around. Still, unexpected issues can cause the internet to go out.
- Solution: Have a backup Internet provider to pick up the slack if the main connection goes down. A router that supports having a 4G modem, for instance, could be a good fail-over option.
Having one device out of commission is frustrating, but not necessarily the end of the world. But, when the damage caused by a single device or failure point spreads business-wide, you could face serious consequences.
Downtime for system failures or data breaches can be:
- Expensive โ In addition to potential overtime for IT staff remedying the situation or revenue losses, your company may also face fines.
- Time consuming โ your team must adapt to a new reality while IT resources are busy trying to get back to business as usual.
- Reputation damaging โ any disruption to business as usual could undermine customer trust and generate customer churn.
IT professionals understand the danger of SPOF. Avoid weaknesses that can lead to system-wide failures or loss of business information. Partner with computer specialists who can identify and eliminate these vulnerabilities to your business.
Contact us today at (615) 522-0080 to begin eliminating these systemic failures!
Safe Network Solutions is a technology consulting firm located in Nashville, TN. We are focused on reducing our Clientsโ stress and the time they spend handling IT related issues. As technology has become more integrated with daily business tasks, downtime is not an option. Whether your systems reside on-premise, in the cloud, or in a hybrid setup, you need a partner with expertise in a wide array of technologies, with a security focus.
