Everyone is standing around. Nobody can access files. The accounting system is offline. Emails are bouncing. Someone says “the server is down” and suddenly the whole office stops.
This is one of the most stressful moments in a small business. But there are things you can do right now, before your IT support arrives, that will help get things back faster and keep your business running in the meantime.
First: check whether it is actually the server
Not every “server down” situation is a server problem. Before you panic, run through these quick checks:
Can anyone access anything? If one person cannot reach the server but everyone else can, the problem is with that person’s computer or network connection, not the server itself.
Is the internet working? Open a website on your phone (using the office WiFi, not mobile data). If you cannot browse the web, the problem may be your internet connection, not your server. Check whether your router lights are normal. If your fibre box shows no connection, call your ISP.
Did the power go out recently? Load shedding, a brief power dip, or a tripped breaker can knock out servers and networking equipment. Check whether the server, your UPS (if you have one), your switches, and your router all have power and are running normally.
Has anything changed? Did someone install something, move a cable, or restart a piece of equipment this morning? Changes immediately before a failure are usually the cause.
If the answer to all of these is “it really is the server”, then it is time to call IT support. But the information you just gathered will save your IT team time diagnosing the problem.
What to tell your IT support
When you call, the more specific you can be, the faster the fix. Here is what helps:
What is happening? “The server is down” is a start, but “nobody can access shared files and the accounting system is showing a connection error” is much more useful.
When did it start? “It was working at 8am when I arrived but stopped around 9:15” gives your IT team a time window to investigate.
Is anything still working? Can people access email? Can they browse the internet? Can they print? If some things work and others do not, that narrows down the problem significantly.
Was there a trigger? Power cut, software update, someone unplugged something, a new device was connected. Anything that happened shortly before the problem started.
What does the server look like? If you can see the physical server, are the lights on? Is it making normal sounds? Is the screen showing anything (an error message, a blue screen, nothing at all)?
This information can turn a 30-minute diagnosis into a five-minute one.
What you can do while it is being fixed
A server outage does not have to mean a complete stop. Here are ways to keep the business moving:
Switch to cloud tools temporarily. If your email is through Microsoft 365, it still works even when your local server is down. Staff can access Outlook, OneDrive, SharePoint, and Teams through a web browser. Go to outlook.office.com or office.com. Files synced to OneDrive are also available on individual laptops.
Use mobile data. If the internet is the problem (not the server), mobile hotspots can keep critical staff connected. Even basic tasks like sending urgent emails can happen through phones.
Prioritise what matters. Not every task needs the server. Phone calls, client meetings, planning work, even some paperwork can continue. Make a quick call on what is urgent and what can wait an hour or two.
Communicate with clients. If outgoing emails or your phone system are affected, use a mobile to let critical clients know about any delays. A quick “we’re experiencing a technical issue, back to you by 2pm” is better than silence.
Do not attempt server repairs yourself. Restarting a server during a database write can corrupt data. Pulling cables to “see what happens” can make a simple fix into a complex one. Unless your IT team specifically asks you to do something (like press the power button), leave the server alone.
After it is fixed: what to ask your IT support
Once the server is back up, the immediate crisis is over. But it is worth asking a few questions so this does not become a recurring problem:
What caused it? Understanding the root cause tells you whether it was a one-off (a power surge) or something that might happen again (an aging hard drive, insufficient cooling, a software conflict).
Could it have been prevented? Some failures are preventable with monitoring. If a hard drive was showing warning signs for weeks, monitoring software would have flagged it before it failed. If load shedding caused the problem, a UPS or generator may be the answer.
Is the data intact? Did the failure cause any data loss? Were backups current? This is the moment to verify that your backup actually works, not just that it exists.
What should we do differently? Maybe the UPS battery needs replacing. Maybe the server needs more RAM. Maybe it is time to move certain services to the cloud. Your IT support’s answer to this question is worth more than anything else in this conversation.
How to reduce the impact of future outages
Server failures happen. Hardware wears out. Software crashes. Power goes out. The goal is not to eliminate all failures (you cannot) but to minimise the damage when they occur.
Monitoring catches problems early. A monitored server sends alerts when disk space runs low, when a backup fails, when temperatures rise, or when a service stops responding. These early warnings often mean a fix can happen before anyone notices a problem. Monitoring is included in our Plus and Enhanced plans.
Proper backup means fast recovery. If the server cannot be repaired quickly, having a current backup means your data can be restored to a replacement machine. Without backup, you are starting from scratch. See our guide on what business backup actually means.
Cloud services reduce server dependency. If your email, files, and key applications are in Microsoft 365, a local server failure does not take everything down. Staff can keep working from laptops while the server gets fixed. Moving workloads to the cloud is one of the most effective ways to reduce single points of failure.
A UPS protects against power problems. Load shedding is a reality in South Africa. An uninterruptible power supply keeps your server running through brief outages and gives it time to shut down safely during longer ones. This prevents the data corruption that comes from a hard crash.
Is your business ready for the next server failure?
We will review your server setup, backup, and monitoring to tell you where you are vulnerable. Most businesses have at least one gap they do not know about.
Or if your server is down right now:
Call: 087 820 5005
WhatsApp: 081 526 1626
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