Risk Assessment of Telecom Outage and Phone System Downtime
Analysis of likely Risks and Vulnerabilities
Risk assessment of business telecom infrastructure involves analysis and identification of the most vulnerable areas of the phone, pbx, intranet and ancillary systems, coupled with the most likely causes of any downtime. The consequences of resultant downtime needs to be assessed in order to assign a level of importance to each area. This information can then be assimilated when deciding on suitable DR strategies and assigning relevant budgets.
The primary objective in telecom recovery planning is maintenance of communications between staff and the outside world, plus the continued proper handling of incoming calls, with risk assessment being the first step in the process.
Telecom Outages
External or internal causes can result in loss of business continuity and can be of a technical nature, or human related, or be natural disasters. Potential sources of disruption need to be identified and along with the likely consequences and level of disruption a scale of risk can be constructed.
Such considerations as local geography and the likelihood of disasters arising from the business location are a good place to start the risk assessment. The proximity of highways, airports, power stations, landslide areas and rivers needs to be reviewed along with any local history of natural disasters.
The ease with which emergency repair services can access the business premises is also a factor when assessing the consequences of any outage.
The levels of technology used in communications systems will result in differing levels of risk with existing backup systems and services a significant factor in the final analysis. Each area of a network or inbound/outbound communications system will be affected differently and a comprehensive assessment will incorporate levels of susceptibility.
Communications can be a highly complex aspect of business infrastructure needing specialist assessment. Advice and a thorough audit of telecom risks coupled with evaluation of the telecom recovery options is provided by Telecom DR Solutions Providers.
Quantifying Risk
A method of quantifying telecom outage risk can involve a combination of impact level and probability ratings. An impact scale can be devised such as:
| Impact Scale | ||||
| Rating | Outage | Possible Cause | ||
| Natural | Technical | Human | ||
| 1: Minor | Up to 2 hours | Tornadoes High winds |
Power fluctuation Air con failure Software bugs Application failure |
Vandalism Hazardous waste spillage |
| 2: Disruptive | Up to 8 hours | Flooding Snow storms Hurricanes Typhoons |
Power failure Hardware malfunction Gas leaks |
Sabotage Burglary Bomb threat Biological contamination Vehicular accident |
| 3: Serious | Up to 2 days | Fire Seismic activity Epidemics |
Chemical spill | Industrial action Terrorism Explosion |
| 4: Major | Over 2 days | Landslides | Nuclear accident | Staff on strike Civil disorder War Radiation |
There is no need to consider cumulative threats, such as flooding resulting in landslide, but the scale needs to be applied consistently.
A probability value from 1 to 10 can then be applied to each assessed threat and once multiplied by the impact value creates a weighted risk rating e.g. if a power failure produces an impact rating of 2, because historically local power outages are longer than 2 hours, and as it's an area that experiences hot summers and peak air conditioner usage, the probability is assessed at 4, the weighted risk rating is then 4 x 2 = 8.
A rating system such as this provides a clearer picture of risk and allows administrators to apply diaster recovery resources accordingly.
Telecom Disaster Prevention
The consequences and costs of any downtime in business communications can be considerable, and a thorough risk assessment and quantification can prove invaluable when it comes to developing an effective telecom recovery plan that will provide business continuity reducing losses both financially and in terms of reputation.
