Stop IT outages before they start: How DEX predicts and prevents system failures

If only predicting IT issues were as simple as shaking a Magic 8 Ball and getting clear answers about the future. However, reality demands more precision. When systems fail unexpectedly, the consequences ripple across your organization.

But what if you could see those failures coming and stop them before they start?

TeamViewer DEX enables your IT teams to transition from a reactive to a predictive function. Instead of waiting for alerts and user complaints, your team gets early warning signs that let them fix problems while systems stay online.

This shift from firefighting to prevention changes everything about how IT operates.

In this article:

• The cost of downtime
• How digital employee experience software turns predictions into prevention
• How RLI Insurance achieved greater visibility with a DEX platform
• The measurable impact of predictive IT

The cost of downtime  

Unplanned outages cost around USD 5,600 a minute, yet the true impact is often wider and more difficult to measure. Why? Because service-level agreements become harder to meet, and each failure increases the pressure on your IT teams and the wider business. When systems can’t be relied on, trust in IT’s ability to deliver starts to erode.

For lean IT teams managing complex environments, this pattern is, unfortunately, familiar. Long-term projects are paused while the focus shifts to urgent repairs. And work that could strengthen stability is pushed aside in favor of restoring service. This constant cycle makes it difficult to move beyond a firefighting approach.

Customer-facing teams feel this strain, but in a different way. Service interruptions put years of relationship-building at risk. Particularly when customers rely on those services to hit their own deadlines.

In addition, compliance and security teams face the fallout from missed backups, incomplete monitoring data, and gaps that could be exposed in an audit.

Over time, repeated outages also affect employees directly. As confidence in tools fades, people begin creating their own workarounds to get things done. These shortcuts may solve an immediate problem, but they bypass approved processes. This makes systems harder to secure and issues harder to predict.

The question becomes: how do you break this reactive cycle and get ahead of problems before they impact your entire organization?

How digital employee experience software turns predictions into prevention  

IT has long worked to a familiar pattern: wait for something to fail, then fix it as quickly as possible. Digital employee experience (DEX) platforms change that rhythm. By showing what’s happening across the environment in real time, they give teams the chance to act before a problem takes hold.

It starts with visibility. A DEX platform watches every endpoint, application, and network connection, gathering performance data as events happen rather than after the fact. This live view shows the health of the entire IT environment at any moment and makes it possible to spot changes as they occur. Unlike a Magic 8 Ball’s cryptic responses, a DEX platform delivers clear, actionable insights about the future state of your IT environment.

From there, predictive analytics turn observation into foresight. A digital employee experience software looks for patterns that point to trouble ahead. For instance, a steady climb in memory usage that could end in a crash, unusual network activity that hints at a security risk, or slower application response times that may soon trigger user complaints.

When issues are caught early, IT teams can work differently. Instead of rushing from one emergency to the next, they can resolve small problems before they spread, keeping systems stable and reducing the risk of major outages.

How RLI Insurance achieved greater visibility with a DEX platform  

RLI Insurance faced a common challenge: limited visibility into its IT environment made it difficult to prevent problems before they affected employees. The IT team often learned about issues only after users called for help.

Since adopting TeamViewer DEX in 2023, RLI has changed its approach to IT support. "We didn't have to get a call about an issue because we now detect it," explains Jeremy Roberts, IT Manager for Technology Support at RLI Insurance. "With TeamViewer DEX's help, we make the machine and employee experience better."

The platform helps them spot and resolve issues proactively, reducing troubleshooting time by 30 minutes per interaction while freeing up IT resources for strategic initiatives.

Read more: How RLI Insurance achieves greater visibility with the TeamViewer DEX Platform

The measurable impact of predictive IT  

 Unlike a Magic 8 Ball’s vague reply of “outlook not so good,” TeamViewer DEX delivers insights you can act on and results you can prove.

Real-time data, AI-driven analysis, and automated responses work together to prevent issues before they affect the business. The improvements are measurable, and they speak directly to what leaders value most: uptime, efficiency, and productivity.

Mean time to resolution (MTTR) drops because teams can spot and fix problems before they become incidents. And fewer issues also mean fewer tickets. In addition, automated remediation handles small glitches without human intervention, freeing technicians to focus on planned maintenance and projects that strengthen the environment for the long term.

The effect on the employee experience is just as clear. Reliable systems mean less time waiting for fixes and more time getting work done. Companies where IT systems are proactive, data-driven, and personalized only lose about 30 minutes of productive time a week. Additionally, fewer disruptions, requests for unofficial tools, or personal workarounds drop, making the environment more secure and easier to manage.

Lastly, financial gains also build over time. Shorter outages mean fewer missed SLAs and avoided penalty fees. Lower ticket volumes and faster resolution times reduce support costs. And with firefighting reduced, strategic IT initiatives—the ones that drive growth and long-term stability—get completed.

Predictive IT doesn’t just stop problems from happening; it gives IT the breathing room to deliver more value to your company.

Keep systems running and your teams focused

IT systems are the backbone of almost every business operation, so outages and downtime aren't an option. With digital employee experience software, your organization can take a proactive stance on outage management.

Much like consulting a Magic 8 Ball for insights, these tools help you predict, prevent, and mitigate potential issues. Your systems stay stable, your team stays focused on strategic work, and your organization maintains the reliable service that customers and employees depend on.