New research uncovers increasing costs of downtime, with lengthy resolution times, creating financial and reputational damage for organizations

Fifty percent of CIOs report their businesses have recorded financial losses due to increased downtime, according to research commissioned by Opengear, a Digi International company (NASDAQ, DGII, www.digi.com). The global study that polled 500 network engineers and 500 CIOs across the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, and Australia, indicates both the volume and costs of downtime are spiraling.

The research shows that mean time to recovery (MTTR) is also ramping up, wreaking further havoc on companies’ finances and reputations. It now takes organizations an average of 11.2 hours to find and resolve a network outage after it’s reported, an increase of nearly two hours since Opengear conducted a similar study in 2020. While CIOs rank financial loss as the most severe impact of network outages, the study reveals a much broader picture of costs, with customer satisfaction (47%), data loss (45%), and loss of reputation (41%) also cited as main impacts.

The study also suggests that network engineers on the frontline are more likely to prioritize the need to avoid downtime than their senior managers. More than one-third (36%) of engineers rank it as their organization’s biggest network challenge post-digital transformation – second only to security. Conversely, CIOs are more likely to prioritize skills shortages, network agility, and performance above concerns about outages. As the impacts of network downtime increase, it is likely that questions of network resilience will develop into a growing C-suite concern.

Opengear’s study comes as greater numbers of firms leverage hybrid working, the Internet of Things (IoT), and smart devices in a post-pandemic landscape. Networks are experiencing significant strain, as the interconnectivity of these devices increases the risk of costly and disruptive downtime.

“While network outages are nothing new, we are seeing a worrying rise in the frequency, severity, and costs of downtime across enterprises,” said Gary Marks, President of Opengear. “Organizations are also taking significantly longer to recover from these incidents, largely due to the elevated sophistication of cyber-attacks and a combination of economic factors and labor shortages caused by the recent pandemic. Our research should sound a clear note of caution to businesses: To avoid further financial and reputational harm, avoiding downtime must rise to the top of the priority list. Businesses need to look toward more advanced technologies to streamline their operations and boost the resilience of their networks.”

About Opengear

Opengear, a Digi International company, delivers secure, resilient access and automation to critical IT infrastructure, even when the network is down. Provisioning, orchestration, and remote management of network devices, through innovative software and appliances, enable global organizations to manage data centers and remote network locations across financial, digital communications, retail, and manufacturing industries. For more information please visit www.opengear.com.

About Digi International

Digi International (NASDAQ: DGII) is a leading global provider of IoT connectivity products, services, and solutions. It helps companies create next-generation connected products and deploy and manage critical communications infrastructures in demanding environments with high levels of security and reliability. Founded in 1985, Digi has helped customers connect more than 100 million things and counting. For more information, visit www.digi.com.

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