19. June 2007
White Paper "Business Continuity: Automated Alerting in Emergencies
In today’s networked world of business, failure of a company’s key business processes is almost unacceptable. Every second counts in an emergency. Rapid alerting of emergency task forces and immediate communication with crisis management teams are critical in determining the progress of an emergency or crisis. In this situation, FACT24 Notification and Conferencing Service provides companies with an array of advantages. In addition, FACT24 is easily integrated into existing infrastructures and company-specific processes.
Although any company can be hit by interruptions or failure in its business processes, in today’s business world these problems can often make or break the company. For this reason, risk management and business continuity must be awarded a key strategic role. IT-supported systems are useful aids to implementation. Yet according to a study from July 2005 carried out by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) and commissioned by AT&T and Cisco, only two-thirds of companies actually have a business continuity scheme in place. However, 28 per cent of all participants in the study have already experienced one or more failures in their business processes – IT system crashes, natural disasters, fire, human error or even sabotage by staff, or external attacks. Two-thirds of those questioned in the study are concerned about loss of revenue in the event of such an emergency. Damage to reputation and company image and loss of customers are viewed as a potential hazard by 40 per cent of responders. If a crisis occurs, companies that already operate a business continuity plan have significantly better chances of minimizing the damage and of rapidly resuming normal business operations.
In the event of an emergency or crisis, the business continuity management system activates a proven and consistent emergency plan. A comprehensive set of emergency plans draws up procedures for all key emergency processes. To ensure rapid response in the event of emergency, it is critical to alert task forces and inform emergency teams. However, simply installing a Business Continuity Management (BMC) is unlikely to provide a satisfactory solution. A sophisticated telecommunications system is required, particularly in order to inform staff members, external persons and representatives of the media or official bodies.
The following simple questions are designed to help companies check whether their current emergency planning is up-to-date and offers a sufficient range of functions.
Often every second counts in emergency or crisis situations, when quick decisions must be made in order to minimize damage. Emergency and management teams must be alerted immediately, or spontaneous telephone conferences set up. Often, responsible members of a company believe that only two options are open to them: telephoning a list of numbers manually, or installing an in-house alarm server.
The disadvantages of the first method are clear: it is laborious and time-consuming, and blocks the telephone system for outside calls. The second alternative of an in-house alarm server, however, is expensive and requires extensive maintenance. In addition, the server itself may be affected by an emergency in the company. Even the best emergency plan will fail if the relevant members of staff cannot be alerted because of technical problems or failure of the telephone system.
Service - the New Solution
A relatively new approach is to offer alert management as an ASP service; this means that the necessary telecommunications infrastructure is supplied and maintained by an ASP service provider, based on redundant structures and thus guaranteeing maximum system stability. An alarm is activated by the client in seconds, independent of time and location. Within the first minute, hundreds of people can be informed simultaneously, hotlines can be established and telephone conferences setup. The alarm solution can be connected to a BCM system, enabling alerting or a telephone conference setup to be activated directly from the BCM system.
Integratability as Proof of Quality
F24 AG has extensive experience in linking its services with other IT applications. FACT24 Notification and Conferencing Service operates independently of hardware and software, and can also be fully integrated into existing technical infrastructures and company-specific processes. If required, FACT24 can be linked to BCM or human resource systems via an XML interface. This offers numerous benefits, including simplified data management, the option of activating FACT24 from other systems, and transfer of reports to other systems.
Christian Götz, member of the managing board and co-founder of F24 AG, describes the current market situation thus: “Many of our clients are attracted by the full technical integratability of our notification and conferencing system. Thanks to our experience and technological edge, we are able to offer extreme flexibility. However, a key element of our company philosophy is our aim to supply our FACT24 clients at all times with a range of functions that operates independently from other systems.”
ASP Service: The Benefits
As an application service provider (ASP), F24 offers its clients a wide range of benefits. In comparison with operation of an in-house alarm server, FACT24 combines low operating costs with higher cost-effectiveness. To use FACT24, clients need not invest in special hardware or software – a telephone for alarm or conference activation plus a PC with Web access for data management of the alarm scenarios are all that is required. FACT24 runs wholly on F24 AG’s alarm and conference servers. F24 is responsible for management, updates and advanced development of the alerting solution, all of which are automatically supplied to the client without follow-up costs.
FACT24’s process chain (sites – systems – network providers) is fully redundant throughout to guarantee the maximum availability (99.98%) and system stability. The notification and conferencing service can be managed, activated and utilized worldwide any time, anywhere. Both the administration interface and all alert messages can be supplied in the language required by specific individuals.
Emergency Communication with FACT24
FACT24 functions rapidly and securely. When a client activates an alert, F24’s redundant alarm server network notifies all pre-defined decision-makers and emergency response teams via mobile phone or landline, fax, e-mail, pager, SMS or other end-devices, on up to 480 parallel ISDN lines. If an individual cannot be contacted, a predefined deputy can be notified automatically. Hundreds of persons can thus be notified within minutes. Notified persons confirm their receipt of the message by entering the time they need to reach the scene via their telephone keypad. FACT24 assembles these confirmations into a series of alarm reports which are automatically sent by e-mail, fax or SMS to the emergency operation headquarters while the alarm is in progress. This enables the directors of operations to see at a glance who has already been contacted and, above all, how long individuals will need to reach the defined scene – invaluable assistance for resource planning.
In order to make the correct decisions and coordinate further action, FACT24 can launch telephone conferences between crisis management groups, company management or specialist teams in seconds. The designated contacts are called by FACT24 at their landline or mobile numbers and automatically merged into a conference call.
FACT24 can also be used to activate an information hotline to manage sudden high volumes of telephone calls in the event of emergency. The hotline features both a recorded message and intelligent call forwarding function. Callers requiring information beyond the scope of the recorded message are directly connected to the responsible office within the company by FACT24.
Conclusion:
In today’s networked world of business, failure of a company’s key business processes is almost unacceptable. In an emergency, every minute counts when decisions must be made to minimize damage. Rapid alerting of emergency task forces and immediate communication with crisis management teams are critical in determining the progress of an emergency or crisis. However, simply installing a Business Continuity Management (BMC) system is unlikely to provide a satisfactory solution Only the combination of a BCM system with a high-performance alerting system such as FACT24 provides customers with a complete system that not only offers comprehensive documentation and management of all key processes and persons, but also enables an automatic, rapid and secure alerting procedure to be carried out at the touch of a button if an emergency occurs.
Author:
Sabine Riess, Public Relations Officer , F24 AG
Although any company can be hit by interruptions or failure in its business processes, in today’s business world these problems can often make or break the company. For this reason, risk management and business continuity must be awarded a key strategic role. IT-supported systems are useful aids to implementation. Yet according to a study from July 2005 carried out by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) and commissioned by AT&T and Cisco, only two-thirds of companies actually have a business continuity scheme in place. However, 28 per cent of all participants in the study have already experienced one or more failures in their business processes – IT system crashes, natural disasters, fire, human error or even sabotage by staff, or external attacks. Two-thirds of those questioned in the study are concerned about loss of revenue in the event of such an emergency. Damage to reputation and company image and loss of customers are viewed as a potential hazard by 40 per cent of responders. If a crisis occurs, companies that already operate a business continuity plan have significantly better chances of minimizing the damage and of rapidly resuming normal business operations.
In the event of an emergency or crisis, the business continuity management system activates a proven and consistent emergency plan. A comprehensive set of emergency plans draws up procedures for all key emergency processes. To ensure rapid response in the event of emergency, it is critical to alert task forces and inform emergency teams. However, simply installing a Business Continuity Management (BMC) is unlikely to provide a satisfactory solution. A sophisticated telecommunications system is required, particularly in order to inform staff members, external persons and representatives of the media or official bodies.
The following simple questions are designed to help companies check whether their current emergency planning is up-to-date and offers a sufficient range of functions.
- Do you have a specific emergency plan ?
A comprehensive emergency plan forms the essential theoretical basis to ensure that processes run smoothly in the event of an emergency. It defines the processes, responsibilities and alternatives involved for all imaginable events and crises. The emergency plan must be regularly reviewed and optimized where necessary. - Do you conduct regular drills ?
Regular test drills must be held under realistic conditions to ensure that everyone is aware of the correct procedure in an emergency. This is the only way to allow people to develop the necessary confidence and familiarity with emergency procedures, and to pinpoint and eliminate potential errors and faults. - How rapidly can your key personnel be notified in case of emergency ?
Today it is possible to notify hundreds of people within the first minute. Does your organization take substantially longer to perform these tasks? Then consider taking urgent action. The same applies if emergency response is held up because responsible personnel do not have an opportunity to exchange personal information, such as in a spontaneous telephone conference. - Do you receive confirmation of notification procedures (or alert completion) rapidly enough ?
The earlier that you can identify that insufficient emergency staff are available during an alert, the faster you can launch a second alert or call on external aid. What functions does your solution offer in this situation? - How effective is your protection against outages and functional faults ?
Even the best emergency plan is worthless if alerts fail to operate for technical reasons or because your in-house telephone system is down. Maximum system stability, coupled with redundant structures safeguarding all components involved in the alert procedure, are cornerstones of disaster control.
Often every second counts in emergency or crisis situations, when quick decisions must be made in order to minimize damage. Emergency and management teams must be alerted immediately, or spontaneous telephone conferences set up. Often, responsible members of a company believe that only two options are open to them: telephoning a list of numbers manually, or installing an in-house alarm server.
The disadvantages of the first method are clear: it is laborious and time-consuming, and blocks the telephone system for outside calls. The second alternative of an in-house alarm server, however, is expensive and requires extensive maintenance. In addition, the server itself may be affected by an emergency in the company. Even the best emergency plan will fail if the relevant members of staff cannot be alerted because of technical problems or failure of the telephone system.
Service - the New Solution
A relatively new approach is to offer alert management as an ASP service; this means that the necessary telecommunications infrastructure is supplied and maintained by an ASP service provider, based on redundant structures and thus guaranteeing maximum system stability. An alarm is activated by the client in seconds, independent of time and location. Within the first minute, hundreds of people can be informed simultaneously, hotlines can be established and telephone conferences setup. The alarm solution can be connected to a BCM system, enabling alerting or a telephone conference setup to be activated directly from the BCM system.
Integratability as Proof of Quality
F24 AG has extensive experience in linking its services with other IT applications. FACT24 Notification and Conferencing Service operates independently of hardware and software, and can also be fully integrated into existing technical infrastructures and company-specific processes. If required, FACT24 can be linked to BCM or human resource systems via an XML interface. This offers numerous benefits, including simplified data management, the option of activating FACT24 from other systems, and transfer of reports to other systems.
Christian Götz, member of the managing board and co-founder of F24 AG, describes the current market situation thus: “Many of our clients are attracted by the full technical integratability of our notification and conferencing system. Thanks to our experience and technological edge, we are able to offer extreme flexibility. However, a key element of our company philosophy is our aim to supply our FACT24 clients at all times with a range of functions that operates independently from other systems.”
ASP Service: The Benefits
As an application service provider (ASP), F24 offers its clients a wide range of benefits. In comparison with operation of an in-house alarm server, FACT24 combines low operating costs with higher cost-effectiveness. To use FACT24, clients need not invest in special hardware or software – a telephone for alarm or conference activation plus a PC with Web access for data management of the alarm scenarios are all that is required. FACT24 runs wholly on F24 AG’s alarm and conference servers. F24 is responsible for management, updates and advanced development of the alerting solution, all of which are automatically supplied to the client without follow-up costs.
FACT24’s process chain (sites – systems – network providers) is fully redundant throughout to guarantee the maximum availability (99.98%) and system stability. The notification and conferencing service can be managed, activated and utilized worldwide any time, anywhere. Both the administration interface and all alert messages can be supplied in the language required by specific individuals.
Emergency Communication with FACT24
FACT24 functions rapidly and securely. When a client activates an alert, F24’s redundant alarm server network notifies all pre-defined decision-makers and emergency response teams via mobile phone or landline, fax, e-mail, pager, SMS or other end-devices, on up to 480 parallel ISDN lines. If an individual cannot be contacted, a predefined deputy can be notified automatically. Hundreds of persons can thus be notified within minutes. Notified persons confirm their receipt of the message by entering the time they need to reach the scene via their telephone keypad. FACT24 assembles these confirmations into a series of alarm reports which are automatically sent by e-mail, fax or SMS to the emergency operation headquarters while the alarm is in progress. This enables the directors of operations to see at a glance who has already been contacted and, above all, how long individuals will need to reach the defined scene – invaluable assistance for resource planning.
In order to make the correct decisions and coordinate further action, FACT24 can launch telephone conferences between crisis management groups, company management or specialist teams in seconds. The designated contacts are called by FACT24 at their landline or mobile numbers and automatically merged into a conference call.
FACT24 can also be used to activate an information hotline to manage sudden high volumes of telephone calls in the event of emergency. The hotline features both a recorded message and intelligent call forwarding function. Callers requiring information beyond the scope of the recorded message are directly connected to the responsible office within the company by FACT24.
Conclusion:
In today’s networked world of business, failure of a company’s key business processes is almost unacceptable. In an emergency, every minute counts when decisions must be made to minimize damage. Rapid alerting of emergency task forces and immediate communication with crisis management teams are critical in determining the progress of an emergency or crisis. However, simply installing a Business Continuity Management (BMC) system is unlikely to provide a satisfactory solution Only the combination of a BCM system with a high-performance alerting system such as FACT24 provides customers with a complete system that not only offers comprehensive documentation and management of all key processes and persons, but also enables an automatic, rapid and secure alerting procedure to be carried out at the touch of a button if an emergency occurs.
Author:
Sabine Riess, Public Relations Officer , F24 AG
