Unplanned system downtime can lead to revenue losses and reputation damage for enterprises. Risks associated with downtime need to be mitigated immediately to prevent it from developing into a crisis or full-blown disaster.
If you are the head of the IT department, the said scenario is a nightmare, especially, if you work in a large organization. You will be flooded with calls and emails from all other departments for a quick resolution. How do you notify your employees in the most efficient way minimizing the fallout from the outage?
There are different means of notifying employees about a network failure. You can notify them via SMS, Email or Phone call. Let’s compare the different ways of notifying employees:
| FEATURES | SMS | PHONE CALL | |
| Reach Rate | Immediate(if the mobile phone is on) | Sends instantly but can take time to be downloaded from the email server | Instant |
| Read Rate | 90%* recipients read it within minutes of delivery | Sends instantly but can take time to be downloaded from the email server | Depending on whether the call picks up |
| Usability | Universal(not limited by proprietary software) | Universal(not limited by proprietary software) | Universal |
| Availability
| Very high as a user will always have his phone around him. Also independent of data and Wi-Fi | Limited or no access to emails when on the move .Need Wi-Fi to access emails | Very high as the person will have his phone around |
| Backup | Limited. Difficult to reference for future records | Helps in looking up items saved for future reference | No backup possible |
| Bulk Sending | Can send out bulk messages | Can send out bulk messages | Can only call very limited user at a time |
| Malware | Not susceptible to virus or malware | Primary medium of spreading malware through infected files or to links malicious websites | Most secure way of reaching someone |
| Spam | High spam rate | High spam rate | High spam rate |
| Business Critical Information | Sends urgent and actionable alerts instantly | Possibility of critical information being lost among other emails in the mailbox | Can relay urgent information instantly (depending on whether the caller picks up) |
| Time-sensitive Information | Sends information quickly with immediate high response rate | Emails tend to be missed out especially when system downtime occurs. Response can be slow | The fastest way to communicate information (depending on whether the caller picks up) downtime occurs. Response can be slow |
| Cost | Copy of implementing is marginally higher than email | Not much investment required to set up email | Low cost as phone is owned by the user or company provided |
| 2-way Communication | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Intrusive | Less Intrusive | Less Intrusive | Very intrusive as in case of desk phones they have to be acted up before resuming work |
Benefits of using SMS as a notification tool:
- Automates the process of communicating critical alerts instantly to end users enabling corrective action in time.
- 2-way Alerts from IP addressable infrastructure (both IT/ non-IT), Third Party Applications and Users across the Enterprise
- Cost-Efficient and effective independent of internet connectivity
