In this article, we’ll cover:
- Why resilience is now non-negotiable.
- The components behind operational resilience.
- How Webex solutions make businesses more resilient.
Over 70% of organisations have now established an operational resilience programme. At a time of rising cyber attacks and greater regulatory pressure, this shouldn’t come as a surprise. After all, operational resilience goes beyond just safeguarding IT systems.
Outages impact revenue and reputation. The ability to withstand, and recover, when critical services go down requires the right solution. In the case of business communications, a platform with enterprise-grade security is the right choice.
Resilience is a requirement
Operational resilience can be defined as an organisation’s capability to prevent and adapt to service disruption. Whether it’s a system failure, cyber attack, or even a natural disaster, businesses need to have processes in place that makes recovery seamless. Without them, the real issues start setting in.
Having this resilience has always been integral, but it’s now more crucial than ever. Businesses need greater operational resilience due to:
- Downtime being so costly, as it disrupts operational efficiency while harming revenue, customer trust and reputation.
- The dangers of fragmented collaboration stacks, which introduce hidden fragility through dependence, inconsistent governance and slow recovery paths.
- A rising number of cyber attacks and outages that halt operations and put customer data at risk, with any high-profile breaches resulting in hefty fines.
- Regulators and frameworks, including GDPR and the Telecommunications Security Act, now expecting such processes to be in place.
Organisations must be focused on building resilience, and there are certain components businesses need to consider. Technology is a decisive factor, but clarity can be just as crucial; after all, fewer tools and vendors, fewer escalation paths and access points.
The pillars of operational resilience
The UK experiences four ‘nationally significant’ cyber attacks every week. The techniques used by cyber criminals are becoming more sophisticated and threaten to do real damage. Whether it’s to revenue, reputation, or customer trust, no organisation should run the risk when it comes to resilience.
It’s important to remember that operational resilience is a framework for businesses to abide by. The best kind of resilience frameworks include:
- Risk identification: Threats can surface internally and externally, so businesses need to understand how one system failure can impact other systems.
- Detection protocols: This is where having appropriate safeguards in place matters most, especially when trying to react to disruptions in real-time.
- Protection and mitigation: The sooner a threat is neutralised, the less damage done to operations.
- Incident response: During an outage, teams will have to react quickly to maintain operations; assigning roles and having business continuity mechanisms in place makes that much easier.
- Post-breach learnings and self-assessments: Business leaders can take what they learned from an incident and understand how to adapt resources, and the culture itself, in the event of a future breach.
In terms of technology, a robust IT infrastructure can make a difference. Managed Detection and Response (MDR) services, for example, provide the constant monitoring required to mitigate threats quickly.
Some solutions already have high-grade security functionality embedded in them. These are the platforms businesses should look toward when looking to safeguard key operations. One of these is business communications.
Unified communications and operational resilience
After multiple poor experiences, 73% of consumers choose to switch to a competitor. Businesses feel the pinch in the form of depleted reputation and a fall in long-term revenue. These experiences can stem from operational disruption and the lack of proper resilience protocols.
Reliable internal communications are a must-have. If employees can continue to work and collaborate, the fallout from operational disruptions doesn’t have to be so fatal.
Gamma and Cisco have come together to offer new solutions designed to take business communications further. Achieving Gold status underlines Gamma’s own strengths in networking and security, which has now combined with Cisco’s market-leading Webex platform.
By being cloud-based, these solutions are perfectly suited to improving operational resilience. A unified communications solution like Webex for Gamma allows employees to access various tools from any location, and on any device. Cisco’s own industry-leading security protocols keeps data safe and protects communications in the face of threats.
When internal communications are safeguarded, any emerging threat can be dealt with in real-time. Effective, rapid decision-making means team can coordinate effectively to maintain operations.
Simplified management via Cisco’s Control Hub centralises administrative duties and provides insights into how Webex services are performing. There’s no third-party access to this administrative dashboard, meaning all responses are faster as they come directly from administrators.
By consolidating various communication methods into one platform, businesses can maintain consistent communication during periods of disruption. A cloud-based infrastructure takes communications off-site, improving recovery times and minimising downtime. It’s what makes solutions like Webex for Gamma so crucial.
Turning resilience into a business outcome
Building operational resilience acts as a promise to customers. Businesses should look at resilience as more than just a feature, but as a silent agreement that disruption won’t derail operations. In the long-term, it builds a positive reputation in the market and retains customer loyalty.
Carrier-grade reliability, a resilient network, and dedicated ongoing support gives Gamma an edge. Choosing to take Cisco’s Webex solutions through Gamma gives businesses the best combination imaginable. Leading communications expertise merges with an AI-driven, cloud-based platform designed to make communication seamless.
When billing, support and accountability are unified, rather than distributed across vendors, both financial and operational resilience converge. By adopting such a solution, businesses can stay competitive and efficient during times of disruption.