From database and hardware issues to software malfunctions, IT failure and downtime can be anything from a short stint to longer periods, but no matter what, it effectively shuts down your business.

Downtime is an accepted part of doing business but the ramifications of it are wide-ranging including lost revenue but also loss in productivity among your employees, not to mention, potential long-term damage to your company’s reputation.

Just look at some of the big brands that were all hit by recent data breaches in recent years — Target, Sony, Yahoo, Home Depot, JP Morgan — and it appears that cyber-attacks are an increasing threat to all businesses as the severity and frequency of these events are all over the map. The cost of a breach extends beyond downtime and profits lost; it can also negatively affect your company’s brand and customer loyalty. 

With cloud services and advanced business systems, it has never been easier and more practical and profitable for businesses to promote telecommuting than it is right now. Virtual teams and remote workers are becoming the norm for some companies and according to 2011 data from Statistics Canada, 11.2 per cent of staff work from home for as little as 8 hours a week. And that number is on the rise as recent reports estimate that by 2016, 43 per cent of employees will be teleworkers.