Voice Services in a Business Continuity Plan - Part 2

The previous article introduced the importance of business continuity planning and discussed some of the strategies around ‘network’ diversity.  This article will focus on some of the voice services and features that telecommunication providers offer that should be considered in any business continuity plan.

In today’s economic climate it is more important than ever for businesses to provide responsive communications to their customers and suppliers.  Businesses use many types of communication including; emails, micro blogs, newsletters, call centers and yes, the telephone.  Sometimes it may seem that the traditional telephone conversation is losing ground to other high-tech communication tools.  However, short of a face-to-face conversation nothing beats the telephone in conveying important and timely information.  Nothing will turn off a customer or supplier faster that the inability to reach someone by phone.  Telecommunication providers offer services and features that help to ensure voice communications even in the event of an interruption.

Interruption scenario:  A tree falls down on the telephone lines and knocks-out dial-tone to a business.  Inbound callers would get a fast-busy sound and outbound callers get no dial-tone.  Inbound callers will not be able to leave a voicemail message, as the voicemail is built into the phone system.  What image does the inbound caller now have of the business?  This is not just an inconvenience; this interruption has the potential to cause the business to miss obligations or jeopardize relationships with customers, suppliers and employees.

One strategy an SMB can utilize includes using a call routing feature called CFNA.  CFNA, “call forward no answer” is a feature on the carrier’s Class 5 switch.  It says that if the caller’s destination gets “no answer” (after x rings), the call is then forwarded to a predetermined number.  This could be a cell phone or other office location.  Obviously this is configured with a predetermined number prior to any event. 

Another SMB option using call routing would be to use it with the carrier’s voicemail platform.  Remember when the phone lines get knocked out, or when the phone system loses power, the traditional on-premise voice mail system will not work.  Inbound callers will not be able to leave a voicemail message.  However, the carrier could set up separate (hosted) voicemail box and CFNA after x +1 rings of the on-premise voicemail system.  So, if the on premise phone system’s voicemail normally picks up after 3 rings then the carrier’s voicemail could pick up after 4 or 5 rings.  Careful attention needs to be given when setting up call routing and hunt groups when employing this strategy.

Larger businesses would not use the above features.  They typically do not use POTs lines for the majority of their voice services but instead use PRIs or SIP trunking.  Many carriers offer a solution for PRIs that is very similar to CFNA.  Although it goes by many names (inbound redirect, failsafe, etc.) it is classified as an advanced call routing feature.  It works the same as in the above example; however, it will “forward” all calls in the PRI trunk and not just the one phone number.  Again, careful attention needs to be given when setting up call routing and trunk overflow when employing this strategy.

The one thing that a business could do to virtually eliminate the risk of an on-premise voice outage would be to take the phone system off-site.  A phone system, and other critical systems, could be colocated in a climate controlled, secure datacenter or “outsourced” completely with a hosted PBX/VoIP service.  Many carriers today offer a hosted PBX/VoIP solution.  Essentially the telephone system, software, voicemail, maintenance, upgrades and calling features reside in the telecom carrier’s cloud.  In the scenario above, inbound callers would seamlessly and automatically be connected to alternate offices or auto attendants, cell phones or home offices.  Worst case, the inbound callers would still be able to leave a voicemail message.  This topic deserves attention in future articles.

None of the strategies above address outbound calling.  Unfortunately, if the phone lines are cut then these lines simply can not be used.  Cell phones are your best option. 

In summary, voice is still a critical form of business communications.  Consideration and back-up plans for voice communications should be in place well in advance of a voice outage.  Some of these plans could include advanced carrier services and features along with and a little bit of forethought. 

Please add your business continuity tips on maintaining voice services using the comments button below.

Network Diversity Strategies in a Business Continuity Plan - Part 1

Telecommunication carriers have specific solutions that can be part of any business continuity plan. Future articles will address these types of solutions. This article will focus on some fundamentals of mitigating connectivity risk using diversity. The main principal of diversity is to have a variety of different elements in a system that can accomplish the same task.

Today more than ever, companies need to insure that their operations are not disrupted. Extended disruptions jeopardize the health of the business and customer loyalty. It seems clear, the longer a business experiences interruptions the more likely it will lose customers and not recover. A business continuity plan uncovers vulnerabilities and address's ways to minimize the impacts of those vulnerabilities. A qualified business continuity professional can assist with such a plan. In addition to a Business Impact Analysis, other IT assessments could include: Remote Vulnerability, Data and Storage Protection.  

Today, carrier networks are designed to be resilient. At the core of a carrier's network are redundant and diverse connectivity paths, building entrances, meshed network topology, and back-up CPE along with mirrored data centers. Business customers can employ some of these same strategies.

Carrier diversity would include an alternate carrier circuit. Load balancing with CPE on the business premises or with BGP allows the network to share two different carrier connections. If one carrier goes down the second would provide  uninterrupted connectivity. Carrier diversity mitigates the risk of a carrier experiencing an interruption, typically at a core router. But what if both carriers have their cable along the same path and they are both cut? Access diversity addresses this risk.

Access diversity includes a different type or location of access. This might mean having alternate circuits enter from the other side of the building. This is only diverse to the point where the two circuits merge into the same conduit. Alternate access could also include a different type of access such as cable or wireless. Cable providers especially have a completely separate network from the embedded telco infrastructure, bypassing even the telco’s central office. This mitigates the risk of a “the last mile” cut. Again, employing a load balancing strategy helps ensure on-going connectivity in the event of a line-cut.

Carrier back-bones are typically built on MPLS platforms which provides resilience to the network. Unlike a hub and spoke architecture, MPLS is considered a “meshed network topology”. Any and all locations are connected to each and all. So, if one location “goes down” the other locations are still connected and unaffected. MPLS services are not just available to carriers. Many multi-location enterprises utilize this architecture today.

If the Business Impact Analysis determines that the business can not afford to be disrupted for even a small amount of time then it would be wise to consider collocating critical systems and applications into a data center. Data centers mitigate the physical risks associated with having the core technology functions reside on the business premises. Risks mitigated are fire, flood, wind damage, power outage, fiber cuts and telephone pole destruction. Data centers have battery back-up, diesel generators, environmental controls, and multiple power and carrier connections. In short, your physical business location could be on fire and all of your critical information and systems are still up and running in the data center. Data center collocation is almost a requirement if your network needs to always be available.

A common strategy might be to maintain a duplicate inventory of equipment. Having duplicate CPE implies that the business has the technical resources to make a speedy replacement at any hour. In almost all cases this strategy is not cost effective or efficient. As we have discussed above, much more than just hardware needs to be considered in business continuity planning.

Probably, the most expensive and risky strategy is to do nothing. Incorporating some diversity strategies in a telecommunication infrastructure can go a long way in avoiding an extended business interruption.


Please add your business continuity tips on diversity below using comments.