Mission critical sounds like a term you would hear in a high stakes action movie. While there isn’t much action, the stakes are high if anything were to go wrong. A mission critical system is a system that is essential for the running and survival of a business or organisation. Some of the most extreme examples would be the flight navigation system on a plane, or the safety system at a nuclear power plant. So, what does mission critical mean in regard to your IT and business?
A system may be considered mission critical for many reasons, particularly if any of the following are true:
- Human life or safety is at risk
- Research or information is compromised
- Affected parties are subject to legal, regulatory, or financial costs
- Reputation is adversely affected in a significant manner
- Critical business functions and applications are affected
- Loss of data or access to data is experienced
Not all are going to apply, especially when talking about the IT infrastructure of a business. However, it is still important to identify mission critical systems and operations and understand the risks.
Keep your mission critical systems running smoothly with a trusted IT services company. Contact Connected Platforms for a FREE IT Health Check via the contact form or calling us on 07 3062 6932.
What Does Mission Critical Mean? Identifying Your Crucial Systems
If a mission critical system fails or is interrupted, the processes and operations of your business are significantly affected, and if you haven’t identified these systems it could happen at any time. So how do you identify these systems?
Business Impact
When identifying your mission critical systems, it is important to carefully assess the potential impact on operations and revenue if the system were to fail. Its important to consider factors like customer dissatisfaction, financial losses, and legal repercussions here.
Data Sensitivity
A system could be considered mission critical because of the level of importance of the data it holds and process. If the data is confidential or sensitive and there is a data leak ask yourself, could this have severe consequences?
Regulatory Compliance
In many industries maintaining compliance is mandatory and breaking this can result in legal action against your business. Systems that help achieve this compliance or are mandated by the compliance rules should be considered mission critical.
User Reliance
Identifying the number of users who rely on the system is important to consider. Could there be potential impacts to their productivity or your company’s reputation if this system fails. If yes, it is most likely mission critical.
System Dependency
Often if a system fails, especially in IT, it can have an affect on other systems. If you identify that a system could have a cascade affect and cause widespread disruptions it could be considered mission critical.
Management of these systems is a necessity for all business and can require help of IT professionals.
Managing Mission Critical Systems – Working with the Experts
So now we have answered ‘what does mission critical mean’ and how to identify your crucial system, the next logical step is how do you manage them. Depending on the complexity of the system you may need to consult an IT professional, and that’s where Connected Platforms IT Management comes in.
If you need IT solutions for business, Connected Platforms is your #1 choice. We will help identify, improve, and maintain your business’ mission critical systems and keep your business running smoothly. Contact us for a FREE IT Health Check via the contact form or by calling us on 07 3062 6932.
