The impact of service outages, software bugs and cyberattacks on cloud-based software platforms
Cloud-based software platforms are the backbone of many businesses, providing essential services that drive operations, productivity and growth. However, the reliance of cloud infrastructure also introduces vulnerabilities, particularly in the form of service outages, software bugs and cyberattacks.
In this blog post, we’ll explore the significant impact these issues can have on cloud-based platforms and how businesses can mitigate these risks.
We’ve all read the headlines about IT outages and maybe even experienced them in our own organisations or as a customer. A recent survey of 200 US & European companies suggested that more than £20.7 Billion is lost to IT outages per year. That's approximately £120,000 per company – a substantial amount whatever the size of your business!
Half of those surveyed stated that IT outages are damaging to their business’s reputation with 18% suggesting the impact was ‘very damaging’. The average downtime was 14 hours a year – that may not sound much over the course of a year, but experience tells us those are likely to be some of the most nerve-wracking 14 hours of your year as a business leader or owner!
The Consequences of Service Outages
Service outages are stressful. They’re frustrating at best, but can be a whole lot more damaging in terms of both their internal and external effects. And what’s more they can affect anyone. Just look at these examples of major service outages which hit global giants such as IBM, Slack & Google in 2022.
Regardless of the nature and duration of the service outages, the consequences are clear:
- Operational Disruption
- Business Continuity: Service outages can halt business operations, leading to missed deadlines, unfulfilled customer orders and a slowdown in productivity.
- Employee Productivity: Downtime affects employees' ability to perform their tasks, causing a ripple effect throughout the organisation.
- Financial Losses
- Revenue Impact: For e-commerce platforms and businesses that rely on real-time transactions, every minute of downtime translates to revenue loss which could become substantial.
- Cost of Recovery: Addressing outages often requires immediate attention and resources, incurring additional costs for troubleshooting and restoring services.
- Reputation Damage
- Customer Trust: Frequent or prolonged outages can erode customer trust, confidence and loyalty, leading to potential loss of business.
- Brand Image: In today’s competitive market, a company's reputation for reliability is crucial. Service outages can harm your brand image your customers’ perception of your company and products.
The Ramifications of Software Bugs
Consider the CrowdStrike outage of 19th July 2024. It caused worldwide chaos for companies and individuals on the Microsoft Windows v7.11 platform and above affecting 8.5 million devices. Flights were cancelled, hospital appointment systems failed and even 24 hr news channels were forced off air. A PR nightmare that is estimated to have cost £4.2 Billion in direct financial losses to Fortune 500 companies alone*.
*Source www.thetimes.com – subscription required to access all articles
But whatever the cause, the ramifications can be grave:
- User Experience
- Functionality Issues: Software bugs can lead to malfunctions, crashes, and errors, degrading the user experience and making it difficult for customers to use the platform effectively.
- Frustration: Persistent bugs frustrate users, leading to decreased satisfaction and potential churn.
- Data Integrity
- Corrupted Data: Bugs can result in data corruption or loss, jeopardising the integrity and reliability of critical business information.
- Misinformation: Errors in software can cause incorrect data processing, leading to misguided business decisions based on faulty information.
- Security Vulnerabilities
- Exploitable Flaws: Bugs often introduce security vulnerabilities that can be exploited by malicious actors to gain unauthorised access or disrupt services.
- Compliance Issues: Failing to address bugs promptly can result in non-compliance with industry regulations and standards, potentially leading to fines and legal consequences.
The Impact of Cyberattacks
Cyberattacks often make headlines and really can be your worst nightmare. Early in 2023, Royal Mail were subject to a ransomware attack at a Northern Ireland distribution centre where printers actually started printing the ransomware gang's demands.
Frightening stuff for sure and the impacts of a cyberattack can be far reaching:
- Data Breaches
- Sensitive Information: Cyberattacks can lead to the theft of sensitive data, including personal customer information, intellectual property, and financial records.
- Legal Consequences: Data breaches often result in legal ramifications, including fines, lawsuits, and regulatory penalties.
- Service Disruption
- DDoS Attacks: Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks overwhelm cloud servers, causing significant downtime and preventing legitimate users from accessing services.
- Malware and Ransomware: These attacks can cripple operations by locking down systems or corrupting data, demanding ransom payments to restore functionality.
- Trust and Reputation
- Customer Confidence: Cyberattacks erode customer confidence in the security and reliability of a business, potentially leading to a loss of clientele.
- Market Position: Repeated security incidents can harm a company's market position, giving competitors an advantage.
Mitigating Risks and Enhancing Resilience
So, given that there are many advantages of using cloud-based software platforms and they continue to form an integral part of most companies’ tech strategies, how should you mitigate against the risks of any kind of service interruption to your platforms, minimising the impact on your business and customers?
Here are some pointers that will help:
- Robust Security Measures
- Encryption and Authentication: Implement strong encryption protocols and multi-factor authentication to protect data and access.
- Regular Security Audits: Conduct frequent security audits and vulnerability assessments to identify and mitigate potential threats.
- Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Planning
- Redundancy: Ensure data redundancy and backup systems are in place to quickly restore operations during outages or after a cyberattack.
- Incident Response Plan: Develop and regularly update an incident response plan to effectively manage and recover from disruptions.
- Proactive Monitoring and Maintenance
- Automated Monitoring: Use automated monitoring tools to detect and address performance issues, bugs, and security threats in real-time.
- Regular Updates: Keep software and systems updated with the latest patches and security improvements to minimize vulnerabilities.
- User Education and Awareness
- Training Programs: Educate employees and users about cybersecurity best practices, phishing attacks, and the importance of strong passwords.
- Awareness Campaigns: Regularly conduct awareness campaigns to keep security at the forefront of everyone’s mind.
And that’s where we come in...
We understand that for many SMEs, a fully comprehensive tech strategy including disaster mitigation, super robust security and belts and braces maintenance can be really daunting.
At Go Tripod, we’ve been partnering with our clients for 15 years ensuring they have the best plans in place and the finest cloud-based systems to maximise uptime and mitigate downtime risks to a minimum. We know what we’re up to and have the highest quality development techniques, testing protocols and QA systems and processes in place.
We can work with your IT team or we can fully integrate into your business on a part-time/short term basis with our ‘CTO as a Service’ offering if you’re not in the position to hire a fully blown CTO to build and execute your tech strategy.
We appreciate that service outages, software bugs, and cyberattacks pose significant challenges to the robustness and reliability of cloud-based software platforms and we know how to minimise those risks with you on an on-going basis.
We’ll help you implement robust security measures, proactive monitoring and comprehensive disaster recovery plans, to reduce risk and enhance your organisation’s resilience against disruptions.
Ultimately, a proactive and strategic approach to managing these threats helps businesses maintain the reliability and trustworthiness of cloud-based applications, ensuring they continue to deliver value in an increasingly digital world.
And we have bags of experience in helping people do just that!
To learn more about how Go Tripod could work with your company to provide secure, robust cloud-based applications, simply email hello@gotripod.com, call us on 0845 475 2487 or complete the form below.
What is digital transformation?
The term Digital Transformation has been around for a while and serves as an umbrella topic for many discussions around evolving business practices in today’s digital world.
But what is it? What’s in it for you and how do you set your organisation on a pathway that allows you to reap all the benefits that adopting new digital trends and innovations will offer your business?
In this blog post, we seek to explain some of the fundamentals of digital transformation, particularly for SME business owners, who may not have a dedicated Chief Information Officer, Chief Technology Officer or a plethora of IT experience in their own skill set.
So, what is digital transformation?
Well, in a nutshell, it’s any changes you make to your business which involve a shift to digital technologies.
It could be:
- Changes to business or operating models which require the adoption of new in-house custom software solutions
- Updating of processes to become more efficient, more agile and cost-effective
- Upgrading product development pathways to become more innovative, faster to market and competitive
- Improving employing experiences by investing in cloud-based platforms which allow remote working and operate seamlessly across time zones
- Elevating the customer experience with better user interfaces, intelligence on customer behaviours and buying patterns
On this last point, you’ll read a lot of material about how digital transformation puts the customer at the centre of everything you do.
And it does. Quite rightly.
But it’s more than that…
As you can see from the list above, it potentially affects whole areas of your business, with change management impacts as the status quo is challenged and a new digital culture evolves in your organisation.
And in some cases, it has disrupted whole industries. Think Uber, Air BnB and Netflix…
There is no doubt that digital transformation is here to stay and is a must for all businesses with an eye for growth in the future who want to maintain or increase their competitive edge. In fact, in a recent report, PWC stated that 60% of senior executives believe that digital transformation will be critical for business growth.
And let’s face it – who wants to be a digital laggard?
And, what’s in it for you?
A well planned and executed digital transformation strategy will set your business up nicely for the years ahead and potentially account for a big chunk in your growth target through process improvements, increased employee retention and a better understanding your customers.
Put simply, it will:
Get you closer to your customers – existing and potential
Back to that idea of competitive edge. Companies which have first-rate digital solutions – a well-designed and easily navigable website, internal processes which allow order processing to be slicker and leaner, a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system which enables them to nurture their customer relationships – are more likely to deliver a top-notch customer experience. And those customers will a) return and b) tell their friends about their experience.
Help you attract and retain the best talent from the workforce
Investing in digital platforms will allow you to offer more flexible working conditions for your teams. Cloud based systems, web-based apps, some even with mobile app functionality, will attract new, digitally savvy teammates, who will help your business grow and are more likely to stay with you.
Enable you to get rid of old processes and legacy software technology
Implementing a digital strategy is the ideal time to review old paper-based processes, which may take longer, lack real-time data capture and offer more room for error. It’s also a time to obsolete any legacy software platforms which may be holding you back, becoming impossible to maintain or even becoming a non-compliance risk.
Provide a quantifiable ROI
One of the beauties of digital transformation, is that by their very nature, many of the software tools and IT systems adopted will have built in tools which help you justify your investment and its impact on your organisation. Revenue growth, cost reduction, customer acquisition and retention and speed of innovation are but a few parameters which can be measured and tracked with built in digital analytics.
Simon Ashley, Go Tripod’s Co-founder & Director commented, "We love helping people discover the benefits of digital transformation for their business. Our goal is always to create advantage for all stakeholders - clients, people, partners and communities. It's a goal that reflects our purpose, our core values and our culture of shared success."
How can I get started?
As with many things, taking the first step is often the biggest. But also, as with many things, help is at hand.
At Go Tripod, we’ve been helping SMEs transform their businesses into digitally efficient operations for the last 15 years. We’re a nice bunch who know our stuff when it comes to software development and customisation and we pride ourselves on our ability to understand your business goals and processes too, ensuring you end up with digital solutions which suit you, your customers and your budget.
We’ve helped businesses from the very start to formulate their digital transformation strategies – even stepping into the CTO role in an interim capacity with our CTO as a Service offering.
We’ve helped small businesses grow by developing custom web-based software and bespoke mobile apps or adopting processes which help them move away from the reliance on outdated spreadsheets and undignified piles of paperwork. And we’ve helped larger operations get closer to their customers and realise better, more efficient digitally-based processes.
We’d love to help you too!
To learn more about how digital transformation can benefit your organisation, simply email hello@gotripod.com, call us on 0845 475 2487 or complete the form below.
Most businesses are web-based software businesses
Today most businesses will be using web-based software, and you'll struggle to find a truly offline organisation in the UK in 2024. You'll struggle to find one which doesn't have a computer in their office and you’ll struggle to find one which isn’t connected to the internet in some way.
But just how aware of our reliance on web-based software are we?
Most SMEs use specific software platforms to sustain and grow and more and more are investing in and adopting web-based software solutions.
Digital Transformation through Software
A company in a traditional industry will often have a reasonably traditional growth model. Let's use the hypothetical example of an estate agent with a 20-year history. At the start of those 20 years, their day-to-day would have been newspaper adverts, word-of-mouth, shop window posters, and telephone calls. By the end of those 20 years, we'd be talking about Rightmove, email and CRM (Customer Relationship Management), video footage, 360 degree walkthroughs and drone tours – all great examples of web based software.
And while most estate agents will have transitioned to the new digital world, let's think about those who seized the opportunity provided by new technology:
- Using a service like Rightmove immediately gets your customers in touch with a multitude of potential buyers when compared to traditional advertising
- Email and a CRM mean that customers can be provided with up-to-date information and no enquiry or progress gets left unattended
Web-based software is just software
It’s exactly that. No more, no less.
However, the key to unlocking this new value for your business is to partner with someone who understands software ,its applications and its true potential, as well as being at the forefront of new digital technology to be able to ride the wave of its implementation.
Let's look at a second example from Go Tripod's recent history:
While LetCheck had already begun to embrace software in their processes, their leadership team realised that until their digital transformation was complete, it was limiting their ability to penetrate the market. Their original foray into bespoke software solutions was enough to realise the positive impact of custom software development for their business and they embraced the next steps with open arms.
The key element of LetCheck's success is their willingness to understand that even though they're operating in a traditional industry, they can use software to augment that. By having management and staff that are fully engaged with this, and having their operators be IT-savvy, they can incorporate their new bespoke web app into their existing processes flawlessly.
Work on the web
Many businesses, like LetCheck, find themselves in a similar position, where “traditional" on-premises software does not offer the same advantages as web-based software. This can be deployed as part of a cloud strategy, creating high-availability, accessible products which respond quickly to the demands of customers in multiple markets and geographies.
At Go Tripod, we work with our clients to produce software for the web, seamlessly bringing their business to potential customers around the world.
We’d love to help your business do the same!
To learn more about how our web-based software applications can benefit your organisation, simply email hello@gotripod.com, call us on 0845 475 2487 or complete the form below.
Replacing legacy software systems – a positive move for your business
Time moves on. Technology moves on. Your business is growing and adapting to the ever-changing world we work in and sooner or later you’re going to be faced with some serious discussions and decisions to make around aging or legacy software systems and infrastructure.
In this article we’ll take a look at the impact of legacy software systems and the best options to consider when evaluating their upgrade or replacement.
Legacy systems cost your organisation money, expose it to increased risk and can lead to a lack of compliance, but updating IT systems and infrastructure requires a clear technology strategy, an allocated IT budget and the right people to execute the project successfully.
But what exactly is a legacy software system?
Put simply it’s any system used in your business which is outdated, but still in everyday usage. It could be the over-reliance on an old clunky Excel spreadsheet, an archaic bespoke software system which is difficult or impossible to integrate with new web-based applications or ancient hardware which just isn’t up to the job anymore.
Either way, it’s likely to be reducing your overall efficiency and competitiveness by impeding your employee productivity, customer experience and ability to scale up.
However, most businesses have legacy software systems, so you’re not alone.
In fact 74% of manufacturing companies suggested they rely on legacy systems or spreadsheets to get the job done and 95% of respondents in a recent Red Hat Survey believe the modernisation of legacy apps to be essential for the long term health of their businesses.
So, what are the advantages of obsoleting a legacy system?
1. It reduces your IT maintenance budget
To start with there’s the obvious saving on the IT maintenance budget; maintaining legacy systems often eats up around 80% of a company’s IT Budget.
2. Manufacturers may stop supporting old IT systems and infrastructure
At some point the original manufacturer of your platform or hardware will decide to no longer support it. This increases your risk of downtime of critical business processes in the event of a problem, but also increases the risk of exploitation if the manufacturer isn’t providing regular patches and updates.
3. Your legacy platform may not be compliant
Data integrity and compliance is, quite rightly, a huge consideration in the continued viability of any software or hardware systems used by your organisation. Failure to comply can lead to significant fines and loss of reputation, even personal liability if you’re found liable of a data breach.
4. Your business needs to move on
Legacy systems may well be holding your organisation’s growth back. We previously touched on lack of integration with newer technologies, but the impact is wider than that.
You want your customers to have the best user experiences in class when dealing with you, your teams are likely to work more flexibly and remotely now, putting a greater reliance on cloud-based systems and your workflows may need adapting as you scale up and expand your operations.
All equally important reasons to consider moving away from the reliance on legacy software, rather than adapting new processes to old technology – akin to the old ‘square peg, round hole’ adage.
So, we’ve looked at the consequences of retaining legacy IT systems, but what can you do to cost-effectively eradicate them from your business and get yourselves current and compliant?
It’s often a head scratching moment for SMEs and business owners, especially those who may not have a dedicated Chief Technology Officer (CTO) or the in-house skills to scope out exactly what’s needed from an off the shelf or custom software solution and/or formulate an IT strategy.
And that's where we come in...
At Go Tripod we’ve helped a multitude of companies replace legacy software systems, delivering beautifully developed web-based software applications which match business workflows, customer experience requirements and IT budgets.
Even before a single piece of code is written, our dedicated developers will sit with you to learn about your business, discover where it is now and where it needs to be in the future. And if all that IT strategy and knowledge is out of your comfort zone, we can even act as your CTO on an interim or part time basis with our CTO as a Service offering.
It's really important at this stage to scope out your exact needs
It's equally important that your team acquire any new skills they’ll need to use the new system and that business disruption is kept to a minimum during the installation and go-live phases of the project.
We’re masters at that too, with robust, well developed testing processes and the ability to train your key staff as your new custom software solution becomes a reality.
The result? A beautiful, new, current, compliant web enabled app, developed hand in hand with you every step of the way ensuring your business can tick all the boxes it needs to, including:
- Demonstrating data integrity and compliance
- Simplifying your technology infrastructure and replacing outdated systems
- Maximising the flexibility of cloud based technologies for your teams
- Offering your customers a better user experience whether you’re a B2B or B2C business
IT systems are critical to the smooth running of your business. Don’t let old shaky legacy software jeopardise all the blood, sweat and tears you’ve put into getting it to where it is today.
Talk to Go Tripod – we’d love to help!
Seven top tips to digitise your paper trail
Still working with a paper-based system? You're doing your customers and your business a disservice! The transition from paper to digital is not just a trend, but a necessity. Often referred to as Paperless Migration, digitising your paper trail can lead to increased efficiency, reduced clutter, and enhanced security.
As well as the obvious internal advantages of not having filing cabinets full of paper sat around and all the headaches that go with it, moving online offers a plethora of advantages for you and your customers - an enhanced user experience, immediate feedback and the opportunity to integrate with other online systems to name but a few.
So, if your business is still reliant on paper, it’s time to consider moving to a digital system.
Here are our top tips to help you successfully digitise your paper trail:
1. Assess Your Current Situation
Before you start along the road to paperless migration, it’s important to assess your current paper usage and storage. Take an inventory of all the documents you have and categorise them based on importance and usage frequency. This will help you determine which documents need to be digitised first and which can be archived or disposed of. Identifying the types of documents and their relevance will guide you in setting priorities for digitisation.
2. Choose the Right Tools and Software
Selecting the appropriate tools and software is crucial for successful digital transformation. There are various document management systems (DMS) available that can help you scan, store, and organise your digital files. Look for software that offers optical character recognition (OCR) capabilities, which allows scanned documents to be searchable by text. Some popular options include Adobe Acrobat, Evernote, and Google Drive. Ensure the software you choose is compatible with your existing systems and meets your business needs.
3. Develop a Digitisation Strategy
Having a clear digitisation strategy in place is essential. Decide on the scope of your project, whether you plan to digitise all documents or just specific types. Set clear goals and timelines for the process. It’s also important to establish a consistent naming convention and file organisation system to ensure easy retrieval of documents. Develop a workflow for scanning and uploading documents, and assign responsibilities to team members to maintain consistency.
These first three steps are vital in the overall success of any potential project to move away from the reliance on paper-based processes. At Go Tripod we have the experience and expertise from similar projects to help you at every step of the way - an early conversation with us even before step one will help you ensure you're on the right path.
4. Prioritise Security
Digital documents need to be secure from unauthorised access and potential data breaches. Implement robust security measures such as encryption, password protection, and secure backup solutions. Regularly update your software to protect against vulnerabilities and ensure that access to sensitive documents is restricted to authorised personnel only. Additionally, consider using cloud-based storage solutions that offer advanced security features and regular backups to safeguard your data.
5. Train Your Team
For a smooth transition to a paperless system, it’s important to train your team on the new processes and tools. Provide comprehensive training sessions on how to use the document management system (DMS), the importance of following the established protocols, and the benefits of digitisation. Encourage your team to embrace the change and provide ongoing support to address any challenges they may face. A well-informed and cooperative team is key to the success of your company's digital transformation as a whole.
6. Start Small and Scale Up
Digitising all your documents at once can be overwhelming. Start with a small pilot project to test your processes and tools. Choose a specific department or type of document to begin with, and gradually expand the scope of your digitisation efforts. This approach allows you to identify and resolve any issues early on and refine your strategy before scaling up.
7. Monitor and Evaluate
So, in conclusion, once your paperless migration project is underway, continuously monitor its progress and effectiveness. Gather feedback from your team and make necessary adjustments to improve efficiency. Regularly evaluate the system to ensure it meets your business needs and goals. Keep track of any issues that arise and address them promptly to maintain a smooth workflow.
Digitising your paper trail can transform the way your business operates, leading to greater efficiency, better user experiences for both your staff and customers, and enhanced security. By following our top tips, you can successfully transition to a paperless system and enjoy the many benefits it offers.
Start today and take the first step towards a more efficient and sustainable future for your business.
To discuss your needs simply email hello@gotripod.com, call us on 0845 475 2487 or complete the form below.
We'd love to help you with your paperless migration project.