The Uptime Myth

In some companies from time to time, sales folks can exaggerate about the realities of their system to make a sale. We’re going to take a look at some of these myths over the next few weeks and check them with facts. Here’s a common one:

Myth: “We have 100% uptime”

Reality: All systems require maintenance and all of the technical online systems we rely on, including the most established, such as Google, Ebay, and Amazon, experience periodic downtime on occasion. With some vendors, saying they have 100% uptime is like saying your clothes are always clean because you have one outfit you never wear. So while a data center can have some components turned on while the others are down, in the real world this means the system is not working. True availability is determined by the guaranteed service uptime a provider will agree to in writing and includes any planned maintenance.

Here’s a quick chart to help you translate the numbers and compare apples-to-apples:

99.5% uptime = 43.9 hours down per year = averages about 50 minutes per week

99.9% uptime = 8.76 hours per year = averages about 10 minutes per week

99.95% uptime = 4.38 hours per year = averages about 5 minutes per week

99.99% uptime = .88 hours per year = averages about 1 minute per week

That means that a 99.99% uptime system is 50 times more reliable than a 99.5% system. When it comes to reliability, a small percent can make a huge difference. So when buying your emergency notification system, be sure to ask:

“What guarantee in writing will you make me for your service uptime, including planned maintenance?” – To learn more about the Everbridge system with 99.99% guaranteed uptime, including maintenance, contact us: www.everbridge.com/contact-us