As featured in Security Journal UK's February Special Report
In the modern era, organisations are commonly taking proactive critical event management approaches, as AtlasNXT's below guide illustrates.
Advantages of taking proactive rather reactive critical event management approaches are plentiful. Post COVID-19 pandemic, as hybrid working matures, organisations increasingly take more nuanced, holistic critical event understanding and management approaches.
In the modern era, critical events increasingly account for high-risk scenarios (natural disasters, war and terror incidents) and supply chain disruptions, poor homeworking connectivity, strikes, travel disruptions, increased cyber security threats from remote server home working employees, and employee wellbeing management. Essentially, critical events could be anything impacting organisations' operational impact.
Furthermore, technology and AI development, providing data feeds and intelligence, further enable organisations taking proactive critical event management stances threatening not only lives but business continuity.
Traditional Critical Event Management Perception
Historically, pre-pandemic, organisations typically viewed critical events traditionally. For example, critical events were often previously perceived as high-risk country and working environment scenarios such as war and conflict, explosions, natural disasters and human rights abuse threats. Pre-2020, organisation UK soil critical event understanding might have been limited to office fires, terror attacks, violent incidents or travel accidents.
Pre-pandemic, organisations typically took reactive rather proactive critical event management approaches. Many organisations were trying combating critical events using manual processes and out-of-date systems. As a result, they were unable effectively managing critical events.
"According to Aberdeen Strategy and Research and Blackberry reports, 'The hourly costs of downtime caused by critical events can range from averaging $300,000 to seven figures.'"
Organisations remaining unprepared and unequipped for swift and efficient critical event response leave themselves vulnerable to financial losses, reputation damage, regulatory penalties and, in extreme cases, employee life loss. Regular incidents quickly become critical, should there be no organisational response in the 'golden hour' occurring.
The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated hybrid working, suddenly growing dispersed workforces and lone worker increases (between 6-8 million), causing major business functioning shifts and critical event comprehension changes.
Track24 asked a Security and Risk Manager at leading broadcaster what kept him awake: Not protecting journalists in war zones, but "protecting the everyday London worker from unexpected events which might compromise their safety."
Critical Event Management's Changing Nature
Recent years' events, including COVID-19 pandemic and Ukraine ongoing conflict, proved organisations that despite best forecast and planning efforts, they must prepare managing any critical events threatening business objectives, operations and goods/service continuity.
Continuity Insights summarises: "Whatever their nature, in simplest terms, events are considered critical when they impact one or more of organisational assets mattering."
Critical events now include commonplace incidents causing operational disruption. Smoothing inconveniences is something done daily. Danger and urgency relationships become ever-closer aligned organisations.
Critical Events Requiring Proactive Management Include:
Supply Chain Disruptions
Alejandra Salgado, Supply Chain Drive Associate Editor, notes: "Geopolitical conflicts, strike threats and weather-related disasters tested supply chains in 2022, adding business headaches still grappling with pandemic fallout." Transport delays, Russia's Ukraine invasion, Shanghai's lockdown, rail strikes and shipping/port shutdowns stopped global supply chains.
Poor Connectivity During Homeworking
Poor 2020 connectivity saw "home workers lose half an hour daily," says Computer Weekly. Four-fifths home workers were affected by 2020 IT issues, significantly impacting business functioning. Ponemon Institute 2016 reports stated "IT downtime averaged $8,900/minute," figures dramatically increasing during pandemic.
Strikes and Travel Disruptions
Rail strikes became 2022-2023 regular occurrences, with "around half rail networks shutting down on strike days, only about 20% normal services running." Strikes disrupted staff office entry ability, contributing general business operations disruption. 2022 flight delays and disruptions dominated media. 'At disruption height, cancellations peaked approximately 4.7% all flights' said UK Civil Aviation Authorities' quarterly report. Further December 2022 Christmas period strikes occurred. For many organisations, this severely impacted international travel and business operations.
Increased Cyber Security Threats from Home Employees on Remote Servers
Cyber security hacks always posed great business risks. Cyber hacks or data breaches undeniably are critical events, potentially causing phenomenal down-time and operations impact, brand reputation damage and financial implications if data leaked.
Georgia Tech 2018 and 2019 breaches saw 8,000 student personal information leaking in 2018, followed by further 2019 breaches. Georgia Tech failed learning from 2018 data breach; therefore financial implications involved 'lawsuits and fees for data privacy regulation non-compliance' plus severe reputation damage, says Brian Johnson, DivvyCloud CEO and co-founder.
According to Institute for Economics and Peace, in 2016 global businesses lost $535 billion due critical events. $400 billion resulted from cyber attacks, while $85 billion resulted from global catastrophes. Solid evidence why critical events can't solely be global catastrophes like war or natural disasters.
Employee Wellbeing: Physical and Mental Health, Childcare and Flexible Working Hours
World Health Organisation (WHO) states COVID-19 triggered '25% depression and anxiety prevalence increase worldwide.' This unprecedented critical event sent 'wake up calls' to organisations to 'establish mental health services and support,' reshaping critical event perception. It's now commonplace organisations classifying staff physical and mental wellbeing as 'critical' to successful business continuation.
Following critical events, it's vital 'identifying those needing support,' say KRTS. Organisations increasingly become aware of mental health crises taking more holistic duty of care understanding as part critical event management.
Working hour coverage issues with childcare fall-throughs and increased flexible working demand can arise. However, organisations should support employees with such events fulfilling duty of care and maintaining employee satisfaction. Employee dissatisfaction could critically impact business operations.
Proactive Critical Event Management Approaches
Proactive critical event management means organisations expecting the unexpected. Organisations increasingly implement software solutions managing critical events at moment's notice. Effective previous critical event analysis strengthens organisations' risk comprehension and further management ability. Here are ways technology supports proactive critical event management:
Communications
Effective communications software enables organisations taking preventative approaches to factors potentially contributing to critical events. Many solutions enable location-based employee group creation and enrollment, streamlining communication and channeling messages to different locations when risk profiles vary amongst operations.
Data Feeds
Data feeds are innovative solutions anticipating and managing critical events. Data feeds enable organisations informing employees of travel high-risk area risks, extreme weather instances and conflict and violent crime percentages and instances in defined locations. Data intelligence-enabled possibilities become increasingly sophisticated.
Critical Event Management Platforms
When risks unfortunately amount to fully-fledged critical events, critical event management platforms enable organisations immediately understanding people locations and safety status and establishing two-way communication.
Incident Dashboards and Analysis
Incident dashboards enable organisations analysing historic risks and critical events, informing wider strategies for anticipating and managing future critical events.
Track24: Saving Lives in Thousands
Track24's heritage product suite enables organisations managing critical events and safeguarding their people:
"I had an operator captured in December 2021 and held for six months. Using Track24's technologies, I was able to track him to the compound which he was taken to." - Anonymous client
A Track24 customer team was ambushed in province lacking phone signal. None of team phones received signals. After pressing panic buttons on Track24 hardware devices, alarms were raised and the team received needed support from police and monitoring teams.
Track24's product suite enables organisations managing critical events and safeguarding vehicles and fleets. Their technology ensures driver, fleet and ground team security in high-risk locations globally.
One Track24 customer team's vehicle was completely destroyed during suicide bomber attack. Although demolished, the satellite unit still worked, and teams pressed panic buttons on hardware devices receiving immediate monitoring team support.
Track24's technology supports country-to-country missions, providing critical event management solutions across globe in high-risk locations, as well areas with low-to-medium risk profiles.
AtlasNXT: Next-Generation Critical Event Management
Track24's SaaS safeguarding and communications platform, AtlasNXT, freshly market-launched, is used by security, broadcast and media, NGOs, governmental bodies and multinationals for proactive critical event management.
AtlasNXT empowers organisations answering: "Where are people over whom I have duty of care responsibility, now?"
AtlasNXT enables organisations streamlining communications, business continuity, duty of care and compliance.
Fully functioning as critical event management platforms, AtlasNXT allows organisations staying ahead potential threats by delivering time-sensitive, targeted information through intuitive data feeds. Users can activate location services or open communication channels if feeling vulnerable or threatened from anywhere globally.
Track24 supports GSOC partner Akkadian International with AtlasNXT carrying out vital, life-saving front-line Ukraine operations. Akkadian International provides safer-world security solutions and "has supported international media organisations since conflict February start in Ukraine, continuing providing vital support to local charities and multinational NGOs," says Steve Tidmash, Akkadian International Managing Director.
As 18 missiles rained over Kiev on Monday October 10, Akkadian International Operations Manager called on AtlasNXT critical event management features determining people safety status. Affected personnel coordinates were pulled onto live maps and location-based messages were sent via AtlasNXT broadcast communications. Within 15 minutes, all AtlasNXT users marked on the map were established as safe.
"Technology with critical incident response capabilities is key to our operations running here." - Steve Tidmash, Akkadian International Managing Director
Akkadian International supports critical event management providing turnkey security solutions with 24/7 manned GSOC, supported by AtlasNXT.
AtlasNXT supports NGOs and multinationals and broadcast and media organisations handling critical event management and travel risk management across the world. The Track24 team is extremely proud of AtlasNXT product suite development and continues customers working determining revolutionary ways managing critical events in various operating environments.
Takeaways
As Track24 detailed, this month SJUK's Knowledge Partners, increasingly holistic critical event management approaches have come into modern era force, post COVID-19. Organisations supporting proactive critical event management approaches have best success establishing business continuity despite external events. Proactive critical event management approaches enable organisations resuming business operations with minimal disruption. Organisations are increasingly prepared managing critical events threatening not only life but business continuity.
Unfortunately, critical events, everyday disruptions and inconveniences are inevitable, though organisational approaches anticipating and responding to such events matter most.
To find how AtlasNXT, Track24's SaaS safeguarding and communications platform supports critical event management, book demos here: https://atlasnxt.com/#demo
Or email: atlas.team@atlasnxt.com
