Identifying the “Critical” in Mission Critical

Summary: Critical components imply pieces that a business cannot live with. The same goes for command centers.

It’s quite puzzling to define whether a mission critical operations center is essentially critical in today’s evolving business world. Now, plenty of owners have their opinions based on their industry, and it may be true that it does vary from company to company. However, when identifying what’s truly critical for a business is a better way to break the argument down.

Misidentification

When department managers or business units are asked what functionalities are most important to them in a command center, they’ll typically respond with their most important operations. However, this is not true. The bread and butter behind critical operation lies in the actual integrated system that’s used to support the business, as opposed to the systems and components involved.

Don’t mistake this for slander in regards to the technological equipment utilized. They’re just as important as the center itself. However, this article discussed critical components that make the center what it is.

Downtime

It’s important for a facility manager to address certain areas that they cannot live with – certain areas where operations cannot be disrupted, or the success of the company will be jeopardized. The manager can simply assume that every operation that’s ongoing is considered critical. But, is it really? For instance, one of the most overlooked components is the emergency generator. Without one, a glitch in the power grid could cause the entire company to lose thousands of dollars by the minute.

Facility managers must be able to identify and comprehend what aspects of the command center are critical. Only then will they be able to improve the center’s overall ability to provide situational awareness and efficiency to a business without sacrificing anything in the long run.