Delta. Apple. Facebook. Microsoft.
Even big names with big budgets bleed when systems go down.
- In 2015, Apple lost $25 million from a 12-hour App Store outage.
- In 2016, Delta Airlines cancelled 2,000 flights during a 5-hour power failure, losing an estimated $150 million (TechTarget, 2024)
- In 2019, a 14-hour disruption cost Facebook $90 million (Forbes, 2024)
- In 2024, a Microsoft-CrowdStrike software error caused a global system crash, grounding flights, knocking out payment systems, and disrupting hospitals and governments. Initial losses to Fortune 500 companies are estimated at $5.4 billion (Cybersecurity Dive, 2024).
These are global giants with deep reserves and full-time tech teams. When something goes wrong, they recover fast.
Most Alaska businesses don’t have that kind of buffer.
How much does downtime cost?
According to Splunk and Oxford Economics, downtime costs Global 2000 companies $400 billion annually, or about $9000 per minute. That’s over $500,000 per hour, with losses spread across revenue, penalties, brand damage, and customer churn.
For small businesses, Atlassian estimates the cost ranges from $137 to $427 per minute, depending on the size sector and reliance on digital operations.
And increasingly, downtime isn’t just caused by system glitches, it’s often tied to cyber attacks or gaps in cybersecurity infrastructure.
The True Impact of Downtime Costs More Than Lost Revenue
Yes, downtime kills revenue. But that’s just the start.
A report from Ponemon Institute found that the top three costs of downtime are:
- Business disruption (including customer loss and reputation damage)
- Lost revenue
- Employee productivity
Other hidden costs include:
- Fines from regulators or SLAs
- Legal settlements
- Marketing spend to repair brand trust
- Inventory waste
- Contractor overtime
- Equipment replacement
- Employee turnover (with replacement costing ~33% of annual salary)
This is called “long-term financial drag”, when innovation stalls and market trust erodes. Research shows that downtime also delays innovation, slows time-to-market, and creates long-term financial drag (Splunk, 2025).
Why do Alaska Businesses Face Greater Risk?
Alaska businesses face unique challenges. We’re often running lean, supporting remote teams, or working with teams spread across the US and in different time zones.
Losing access to customer records, scheduling systems, or operational tools means lost time and lost trust. And in remote regions, help isn’t always nearby. That’s why working with a local partner who understands these conditions matters.
How to Minimize Downtime and Its Costs
At Alasconnect, we help organizations across Alaska prepare, prevent, and recover. Here’s what we recommend:
- Have a recovering plan:
If you don’t know what you’ll do when an outage hits, you’ll lose valuable time figuring it out. A disaster recovery plan gives teams clarity and speed. - Monitor and prevent
Companies are now able to use predictive maintenance to avoid hundreds of hours of disruption. - Invest in cybersecurity awareness
88% of breaches stem from human error. That’s why we invest in awareness training tailored to Alaskan teams. - Build in resilience with local infrastructure
Redundant infrastructure, automated backups, and scalable cloud solutions help eliminate single points of failure. We provide managed cybersecurity services locally from Anchorage and Fairbanks. - Learn from every incident
Run a postmortem and identify what broke. Improve systems and communication.
The Bottom Line
Downtime is expensive, but being unprepared can cost even more.
Alasconnect provides locally managed cybersecurity services and disaster recovery planning tailored to Alaska’s unique needs. Whether you’re a healthcare clinic in Kenai, an engineering firm in Fairbanks, or a law office in Anchorage, we help you stay secure, online, and focused on what matters.
