The Real Costs Of Planned And
Unplanned Downtime
Accelerate Recovery With New Technologies

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FORRESTER OPPORTUNITY SNAPSHOT: A CUSTOM STUDY COMMISSIONED BY IBM AUGUST 2019

Overview

THE REAL COSTS OF PLANNED AND UNPLANNED DOWNTIME

Current State

Downtime Is A Business Burden: IT
Leaders Must Invest In Solutions To
Reduce The Impact

Challenges

Downtime is a period when technology services are unavailable
to users. There are two types of downtime. Planned downtime
is scheduled, for the purpose of implementing upgrades andconfiguration changes. While unplanned downtime is unexpected,
due to circumstances such as systemwide failures and power
outages. Both types pose significant costs to businesses.

Solutions

IT leaders are most concerned with the business disruption
linked to planned downtime and the recovery process linked to
unplanned downtime, as both lead to lost revenue. To solve thesechallenges, IT leaders must invest in technologies that help reduce

Benefits

all downtime.

Conclusion

In August 2019, IBM commissioned Forrester Consulting toconduct a study of 100 IT directors in large US enterprises tounderstand the reality of downtime at their organization.

FORRESTER OPPORTUNITY SNAPSHOT: A CUSTOM STUDY COMMISSIONED BY IBM AUGUST 20192

Key Findings
Planned and unplanned downtime is common
within organizations. Due to its nature,
unplanned downtime is more costly, butplanned downtime poses unexpected andavoidable business costs.
IT leaders struggle with: 1) business disruption
during planned downtime and 2) data recovery
during unplanned downtime. Both lead to a loss
in revenue and productivity, and both impact
corporate reputation.

IT leaders must consider technologies that
decrease business disruption and increaseavailability levels.¹ Such investments will resultin greater business productivity and higher
revenue.

Overview

THE REAL COSTS OF PLANNED AND UNPLANNED DOWNTIME

3

Organizations Frequently Experience
Downtime

Current State
Challenges

Organizations experience planned and unplanned downtime on aregular basis. Our survey respondents indicate that they experienceplanned or unplanned downtime at least once a quarter, with close
to half experiencing planned downtime quarterly and unplanned
downtime bimonthly.

SolutionsDue to its nature, our respondents find that, on average, unplanned
downtime costs 35% more per minute than planned downtime.
Companies are often unprepared for unplanned downtime, andwhen it occurs, the reaction time causes a loss of productivity
and money.

“How frequently does your organization
experience planned and unplanned downtime?”
Planned downtime

Weekly or more

1%

Monthly

9%

Bimonthly

15%

Quarterly

46%

Yearly29%

Unplanned downtime

Benefits
Conclusion

Weekly or more

6%

Monthly

35%

Bimonthly

44%

Quarterly

12%Yearly
FORRESTER OPPORTUNITY SNAPSHOT: A CUSTOM STUDY COMMISSIONED BY IBM AUGUST 20192%

Base: 100 IT directors in large US enterprises
Source: A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of IBM, August 2019

Overview

4THE REAL COSTS OF PLANNED AND UNPLANNED DOWNTIME

Current State

Planned
Downtime Is
A Significant
Cost ToEnterprises

Unlike unplanned downtime, IT leaders can schedule, monitor, and control planned downtime. Because
businesses have this control, the common belief is that planned downtime doesn’t result in significant
business losses. However, the survey respondents indicate otherwise.
On average, our respondents estimate that planned downtime costs their organization $1.5 million in
their previous quarter and $5.6 million in their previous year. Because planned downtime is costly, someenterprises attempt to avoid it. However, avoiding downtime for the necessary bug fixes and security
updates results in a greater risk of unplanned downtime, creating a downtime cycle.

Challenges
SolutionsAverage length andcost of planned
downtime

Last Quarter

Last Year

224

830

Average minutesAverage minutes

Benefits$1.5 million

Conclusion

Average cost

Base: 100 IT directors in large US enterprises
Source: A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of IBM, August 2019

FORRESTER OPPORTUNITY SNAPSHOT: A CUSTOM STUDY COMMISSIONED BY IBM AUGUST 2019$5.6 million

Average costOverview

THE REAL COSTS OF PLANNED AND UNPLANNED DOWNTIME

5Challenges Of Planned And Unplanned
Downtime

Current State
ChallengesSolutions

IT leaders are having problems managing the amount of time theirsystems are down. For planned downtime, nearly 40% of IT leaders
rank application and system restart time as a top challenge, and
37% rank service restoration time as a challenge. Companies
are also struggling with being as efficient as possible while thesystem is down: 38% say they are challenged to find a long enoughmaintenance window to accommodate the necessary changes.
The longer the system is down, the more costs are incurred, whichmakes managing the planned downtime challenges critical.

Benefits

During unplanned downtime, IT leaders are trying to regain a statusquo while losing as little money as possible — forty-nine percent ofsurveyed enterprises list data recovery as a top technical challenge,
and 53% rank loss of revenue as a top business challenge.

“What are the top three challenges yourorganization faces when it comes to planned/
unplanned downtime?”
Planned downtime
Rank 1

Rank 2

Bring-up or bring-down time

14%

10%

A long enough maintenancewindow to accommodate changes

13%

16%

9%

Service restoration time

12%

15%

10%

15%

Unplanned downtime

49%

Conclusion

Data recovery
FORRESTER OPPORTUNITY SNAPSHOT: A CUSTOM STUDY COMMISSIONED BY IBM AUGUST 2019

Rank 353%

Lost revenue

Base: 100 IT directors in large US enterprises
Source: A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of IBM, August 2019

Overview

6THE REAL COSTS OF PLANNED AND UNPLANNED DOWNTIME

Current State

Downtime
Disrupts
BusinessOperations

The challenges that organizations face directly disrupt business operations and, in turn, cause loss ofproductivity and revenue. IT leaders indicate that the costliest aspects of downtime are lost revenue(53%), lost productivity (47%), and the negative impact on corporate reputation (41%).

Challenges
SolutionsBenefits“Which of the following
costs does yourorganization face
due to planned andunplanned downtime?”

53%

47%

41%

(Rank top 3)

Conclusion

Lost revenue
Base: 100 IT directors in large US enterprises
Source: A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of IBM, August 2019

FORRESTER OPPORTUNITY SNAPSHOT: A CUSTOM STUDY COMMISSIONED BY IBM AUGUST 2019

Lost productivity

Lost brand equity
or trust

Overview

THE REAL COSTS OF PLANNED AND UNPLANNED DOWNTIMEEnterprises Must Invest In Technologies
To Increase Availability

Current State
Challenges

IT leaders are ready to invest in technologies that help decrease
downtime by speeding up the restart process. Nearly 80% ofbusinesses indicate they’d invest in a technology that would
accelerate their middleware restart and recovery process. In
addition, 77% of businesses plan to increase investments insolutions that would process backlog quicker, and 75% would
invest in a technology that would decrease the amount ofbring-up time.

Solutions

IT leaders anticipate these investments will decrease their averageannual planned downtime by 28% and their average annual
unplanned downtime by 16%.

7

“How likely is your organization to invest or
increase investments in a mainframe technology
with the following capabilities?”

79% Faster restart and recovery

77% Processing backlog

Benefits

75% Bring-up time

Conclusion

FORRESTER OPPORTUNITY SNAPSHOT: A CUSTOM STUDY COMMISSIONED BY IBM AUGUST 2019

Base: 100 IT directors in large US enterprises
Source: A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of IBM, August 2019

Overview

THE REAL COSTS OF PLANNED AND UNPLANNED DOWNTIME

Current State

Investments In New Recovery
Technologies Alleviate Downtime
Challenges

8“If your organization experienced close to zerodowntime, what technology benefits would youexpect to see?”

Challenges
Solutions

IT leaders expect their investments to solve top planned andunplanned downtime challenges. When asked about the benefits
of experiencing close to zero downtime, 50% of IT professionals
indicate that it would allow them to run maintenance more
frequently, addressing a top challenge for planned downtime.
Forty-six percent of IT leaders indicate that less downtime would
mean faster data recovery, addressing one of the top challenges
of unplanned downtime. The right investments can help expedite
planned downtime, reduce unplanned downtime, and, as a result,
help reverse the ugly cycle of downtime.

Benefits

Ability to run maintenance more frequently (50%)
Faster data recovery (46%)
Faster restoration of service after an outage (41%)

Conclusion

Faster disaster recovery (40%)

FORRESTER OPPORTUNITY SNAPSHOT: A CUSTOM STUDY COMMISSIONED BY IBM AUGUST 2019

Base: 100 IT directors in large US enterprises
Source: A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of IBM, August 2019

Overview

9THE REAL COSTS OF PLANNED AND UNPLANNED DOWNTIME

Current StateIT Leaders
ExpectA StrongReturnOn TheirInvestments

Beyond technology benefits, 63% of IT leaders anticipate that their investments in new recovery
technologies will increase revenue. In addition, over half of IT leaders expect their investments innew technology to reduce operating costs, improve their competitive advantage, and grow employee
productivity.

Challenges
SolutionsBenefits“If yourorganization
experienced closeto zero downtime,
what businessbenefits would you
expect to see?”

63%

53%

51%

50%

Increased revenue

Reduced operationalcost

Improved competitive
advantage

Increased employee
productivityConclusion

Base: 100 IT directors in large US enterprises
Source: A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of IBM, August 2019

FORRESTER OPPORTUNITY SNAPSHOT: A CUSTOM STUDY COMMISSIONED BY IBM AUGUST 2019

Overview

THE REAL COSTS OF PLANNED AND UNPLANNED DOWNTIME

10Conclusion

Current State

Downtime of any kind is a significant business cost. However,organizations are still experiencing planned and unplanned
downtime on a regular basis, which results in a loss of businessproductivity and revenue.

Challenges

Planned downtime disrupts business workflows and ultimately
results in revenue and productivity losses. IT leaders areconcerned with the amount of time their systems are down andthe cost it has on their organization.

•Unplanned downtime is unpredictable, and it creates extra costs
for organizations. From a technical perspective, IT leaders areconcerned with the data recovery process during unplanned
downtime. From a business perspective, IT leaders areconcerned with the overall loss of revenue caused by unplanned
downtime.

•Organizations are investing in new recovery technologies thatwill increase resiliency and help decrease both their plannedand unplanned downtime. In return, IT leaders expect higher
revenues and reduced business costs.

Solutions•Benefits
Conclusion

FORRESTER OPPORTUNITY SNAPSHOT: A CUSTOM STUDY COMMISSIONED BY IBM AUGUST 2019

Project Director:
Vanessa Fabrizio, Market
Impact Consultant
Contributing Research:
Forrester’s Infrastructure &Operations research groupOverview

THE REAL COSTS OF PLANNED AND UNPLANNED DOWNTIME

11Methodology

Current State

This Opportunity Snapshot was commissioned by IBM. To create thisprofile, Forrester Consulting supplemented this research with custom
survey questions asked of 100 respondents in IT leadership roles at large
US companies with a revenue of $250 million or more. The custom survey
began and was completed in August 2019.

Demographics
RESPONDENT LEVELCOMPANY EMPLOYEE SIZE

Director in IT: 53%

5,000 to 19,999: 83%

VP in IT: 41%

20,00 or more: 17%

Challenges

Senior-most IT decision maker: 6%
ENDNOTES
Source: “Design for Dependability By Embracing A Future Of Trusted Technology,” Forrester Research, Inc.,
February 25, 2019.

1

COMPANY REVENUE

Solutions$250M to $499M: 55%

Benefits

ABOUT FORRESTER CONSULTING
Forrester Consulting provides independent and objective research-based consulting to help leaders succeed intheir organizations. Ranging in scope from a short strategy session to custom projects, Forrester’s Consulting
services connect you directly with research analysts who apply expert insight to your specific business challenges.
For more information, visit forrester.com/consulting.

Conclusion© 2019, Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited. Information
is based on best available resources. Opinions reflect judgment at the time and are subject to change. Forrester®,Technographics®, Forrester Wave, RoleView, TechRadar, and Total Economic Impact are trademarks of Forrester
Research, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective companies. For additional information, go toforrester.com. [E-45089]
FORRESTER OPPORTUNITY SNAPSHOT: A CUSTOM STUDY COMMISSIONED BY IBM AUGUST 2019

$500M to $999M: 22%$1B to $4.9B: 14%$5B or more: 9%