Which term best describes the effort to offer services with minimal downtime?

The term that best describes the effort to offer services with minimal downtime is reliability. Reliability refers to the capability of a system or service to consistently perform its intended function over time, which includes maintaining uptime and ensuring that users have continuous access to the service without unexpected interruptions. High reliability means that the system is designed to operate smoothly and is less prone to failures, thereby minimizing downtime, which is crucial for businesses that rely on persistent access to their services.

In contrast, scalability pertains to a system's ability to handle a growing amount of work or to accommodate growth without performance loss, while redundancy refers to the inclusion of extra components that can take over in case of a failure, contributing to reliability but not exclusively defining it. Efficiency describes the extent to which a system utilizes its resources effectively, which is a different aspect than minimizing downtime. Thus, reliability directly encapsulates the goal of maintaining services with minimal interruptions.