How to cheat (the Blue Screen of) Death

If you’ve ever experienced the notorious Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) on your computer, you know how frustrating it can be. That dreaded blue screen appears without warning, leaving you to wonder what went wrong and how much of your work has been lost.

For businesses, these crashes are more than just an inconvenience – they can be highly disruptive and costly.

Recent research reveals how frequently BSODs occur, with one in every 200 devices crashing during normal use. And things only worsened during the recent CrowdStrike outage, where the number surged to one in ten devices.

While the tech industry is hit hardest, with over 15% of devices experiencing crashes monthly, sectors like healthcare and retail, which typically have fewer issues, still report 8-10% of their devices encountering the blue screen.

So, what’s behind all these crashes? More importantly, how can businesses minimise the risk?

The good news: around half of these incidents are preventable.

The bad news: many businesses lack the tools or strategies to avoid them.

The study points to a few common causes for BSODs. Faulty hardware, mismanaged Windows updates, and improperly configured drivers for components like graphics cards, networks, and audio systems are leading culprits. When these systems malfunction, they often result in a BSOD.

For business owners, this means taking a proactive approach to IT management is essential.

Rather than reacting to issues after they arise, businesses should focus on identifying and addressing potential problems before they cause a crash. By consistently monitoring device health and ensuring updates and drivers are well-managed, businesses can greatly reduce the chance of BSODs disrupting operations.

The research suggests that with the right preventative measures, businesses could cut the number of BSOD occurrences in half, reducing them to just one in every 400 devices. This would not only reduce downtime but also allow IT teams to focus on more strategic work rather than constantly fixing preventable issues.

Unfortunately, many businesses lack the tools to detect these risks in advance. In fact, most companies aren’t even aware of which devices are currently at risk, let alone those that could crash in the future.

Shifting from a reactive to a proactive IT strategy requires investing in tools that provide insights into your systems. With these tools, you can make informed, data-driven decisions that reduce costs, alleviate employee stress, and boost productivity.

Better yet, let the experts handle it for you. Our proactive IT management approach prevents problems before they can impact your business.

Let us help keep your business running smoothly and crash-free. Get in touch today.