Unforeseen events have the capability of bringing daily business operations to an immediate standstill. From crashes of IT systems and cyberattacks to blackouts and natural disasters, events are capable of causing serious reputational and financial damage. Those who rapidly respond effectively are able to minimize downtime, maintain trust, and continue delivering vital services. Incident management steps in here.
Incident Management is actually the structured process of uncovering, analyzing, and solving unforeseen events that disrupt normal operations. The goal is simple: quickly restore services while reducing the impact on people, processes, and technology.
What is Incident Management?
An effective incident crisis management process will stop incidents from being handled on an ad hoc basis. Instead, there's a standardized routine of logging problems, assigning them to the appropriate teams, following them up until they've been resolved, and doing that with the intention of learning from each occurrence such that an organization will be able to prevent related problems from arising again.
How OpsPlanner Helps with Incident Management
Addressing incidents using emails or spreadsheets can lead to confusion, delays, and missed steps. OpsPlanner is a centralized software platform designed to improve organization and productivity in incident response.
• Centralized Dashboard: OpsPlanner allows you to log, track, and monitor incidents from one centralized location. Status and progress are also shared in real time with recovery managers and stakeholders.
• Integrated Communication: The program enables teams to communicate and coordinate their response to an incident by providing them with the relevant information at the time they require it.
• Connection to Recovery Plans: Incidents may always be connected to pre-defined recovery actions so that teams are always crystal clear on exactly what to do without wasting valuable time.
• Audit and Reporting: OpsPlanner also contains an audit of everything that's stated and done and allows for compliance, accountability, and after-incident reviews.
• Flexible Deployment: A cloud offering and an on-premises solution both provide flexible deployment of the system to cater to different organizational needs and security requirements.
Manual implementation of all of the above elements is daunting and normally permeated with confusion. OpsPlanner removes that confusion by combining real-time tracking, communications, and recovery plans, and brings order to the incident response process as a whole.
Essential Attributes of Effective Incident Management
In order to be successful, incident crisis management must include:
• Real-Time Monitoring – Observing incidents as they happen offers both visibility and control.
• Clear Line of Communication – As the incident unfolds, relevant parties need to receive updates, alerts, and instructions in a timely fashion.
• Integration with Business Continuity – Responding to the incident must be integrated seamlessly with your recovery and continuity plans.
• Accountability and Documentation – The ability to maintain an open record of decisions and actions allows for compliance and potential future improvement.
• Deployment Option – Organization should be able to select between an on-premises or cloud-based system depending on the needs of their own organization.
Take Action Today
Incidents are inevitable, but being unprepared is a choice. A strong Incident Management process supported by the right software can protect your organization, reduce downtime, and safeguard your reputation. To learn more on how OpsPlanner can support your incident crisis management and keep your business moving forward, visit: https://paradigmsi.com/ or email us at info@paradigmsi.com.
