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Q & A Security · September 3, 2026

What counts as downtime cost in these reports?

Reputable downtime-cost surveys aggregate five components: (1) direct revenue lost while systems are unavailable, (2) recovery labour and third-party engagement, (3) SLA credits owed to customers or partners, (4) regulatory or contractual penalties, and (5) churn and reputational impact measured across subsequent quarters. Not every organisation tracks all five with equal rigour, which is why survey methodology matters.

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Enterprise Downtime Costs $300K/hr — And Why That's a Floor
Cost of downtime is the single most-abused number in security-budget requests. It's also one of the most rigorously measured. ITIC's 2024 survey pins the median mid/large enterprise at over $300K/hour; the top of the industry table clears $5M/hour. Here's how the number is built, why Gartner's $5,600/min baseline still holds up, and how to calculate your own.
Related questions
How do I calculate my own hourly downtime cost? How does Gartner's $5,600/minute figure compare to ITIC's data? What are the main causes of unplanned enterprise downtime? What is the current benchmark cost of one hour of downtime? Why is the $300K/hour figure called a floor and not a ceiling?