Natasha Cleary, Author at CACI

Enabling Legal and General to become data led, technology enabled and customer experience-focused

Posted on: 15 June 2021

Legal & General is the UK’s largest provider of individual life assurance products and a top 20 global asset manager. Founded nearly 200 years ago, today the company aims to improve the lives of customers, build a better society for the long term and create value for shareholders through inclusive capitalism.

Data-led, technology enabled, and customer experience focused

James O’Keefe, Commercial Director and Transformation Lead, explains:

Legal & General had set out a clear strategy to drive growth in our direct sales business by being a data led, technology enabled and customer experience-focused digital business. It sounds a simple approach, but we had unique challenges to tackle in our disparate legacy systems and data. The post-GDPR landscape is a critical context too: like all responsible organisations, we’re committed to being compliant, but we’re also looking ahead to the future of global digital privacy.

Relevant and Useful Customer Journeys

James says “We needed a foundation of lawful and accessible first-party data that we could enrich with third-party data to provide meaningful customer insight at a sub-segment and attribute level. This would inform and enable customer and prospect engagement.”

Legal & General had already selected Adobe Campaign Standard for marketing campaign execution. James explains: “In any transformation programme, it’s worth looking for quick ways to deliver value early on, to prove the ROI and demonstrate results. We had a gap in our tech stack that Adobe Campaign filled. CACI worked with us to join data sources, create clean and enriched datasets and to launch the platform. It was an important proof point that delivered good campaign results, gaining buy in and further commitment from stakeholders as well as investment from sponsors.”

With the CACI Demographic Data API, Legal & General is getting even more value from their Acorn and Ocean datasets and CACI-built custom segmentation.

Using this real-time connection, CACI provides Legal & General with Ocean characteristics in real time, such as wealth, age and attitudes, to match with prospects and customers in a privacy safe and compliant manner. This means they can be assigned a best-fit persona and served the most relevant and useful customer journey immediately. It also informs and refreshes Legal & General’s models, for personalised customer experiences.

Leaving behind a one-size-fits all approach, for a segmented and customised conversion journey

CACI’s Ocean consumer data enriches Legal & General’s first-party data, giving a clearer picture of preferences, behaviours and motivations. The team can prioritise marketing spending and campaigns to make the biggest business impact. Legal & General customers and prospects now receive marketing communications that feel relevant to their life stage and priorities.

James says: The results are excellent. We have market-leading campaign deliverability rates. Compared to our legacy system, we have doubled open rates, trebled click-through rates and greatly improved the open-to-sale ratio. The big difference is that we’ve left behind our previous one-size-fits-all approach, replacing it with a far more segmented and customised conversion journey. We have multiple representations of customers and we’re able to optimise continually by balancing the commercial benefits against the cost and complexity of running more campaigns. We have transparency so we can see exactly what drives value. We can understand precisely how we’re influencing customer outcomes and adjust the approach to meet our business goals.

It’s testament to CACI’s breadth of skills that we were able to look to you for guidance and support in every aspect of the customer experience strategy and deployment. I call it your ‘bench strength’ – CACI’s consistent knowledge and capability across the board. There’s great account leadership: when we need to be connected to expertise in different parts of CACI you get us in front of the right person.

You can download a PDF copy of this case study here. If you’d like to discuss your consumer data or data science needs with our team of experts, please get in touch.

Supercharging Hotter Shoes’ customer experience strategy with Fresco segmentation

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Hotter Shoes is the UK’s biggest footwear manufacturer. It’s a digitally led, omnichannel specialist footwear brand with a clearly defined, large and growing target audience.

Overlay abundant retail data with actionable demographics

Hotter already had a strong heritage in direct-to-consumer marketing when Stephen Shawcross, Senior Global CRM Manager, joined the company four years ago.

Stephen explains: “Like many retailers, we had an abundance of data but it was fragmented. Our first challenge was to bring all the data we had together. We created a true omnichannel single customer view (SCV) that included online, store and contact centre order data, footprint 3D scanning and augmented reality fitting data, web browsing data and email engagement data.

But the data was too insular and foot-centric – we had harnessed all the data about how our customers interact with Hotter but did not have a clear picture of the people behind the data. We wanted to overlay demographic data – we needed something more dynamic than a snapshot of our customer database demographics and a few customer profiles.

Fresco dataset and tools for individual customer mapping

CACI’s Fresco data stood out from the competition to offer the level of dynamic detail that Hotter needed. The CRM team was able to match 98% of consumers that order from Hotter to a CACI segment, at an individual customer level.

CACI’s consultant provided “amazing” support for Stephen and the team, with initial training and advice about data mapping and regular check-ins to make sure they have everything they need.

Stephen says, “The big appeal of Fresco was being able to map to an individual customer. A lot of profiling customer systems offer flat pen portraits but aren’t necessarily actionable. CACI matches a customer to a segment and means you can do something with it in real time. We immediately stepped up the level of personalisation beyond buying and browsing behaviour to supercharge our Customer Experience Strategy.”

Hyper-relevant marketing that directly fuels customer and sales growth

The combination of buying behaviour, digital engagement, foot-scan data and CACI demographics means Hotter Shoes’ marketing is hyper-relevant and offers true personalisation at scale.

Stephen explains:

At the highest level, we personalise based on CACI segment, recency, frequency, monetary value (RFM) commercial segmentation and channel preference across all customer touchpoints.

Hotter is able to create relevant, personalised website homepage images and messages and email content as well as Google pay per click ads, social media posts and direct mail. The profiling is specific and sophisticated – there are currently 27 different direct mail variants. We can prospect with social media marketing, finding and targeting lookalike audiences.

Hotter is also exploiting the Fresco data to support acquisition among new customer groups. Beyond their traditional market of customers aged 55+, the firm is looking to attract the next generation. Fresco segmentation is helping the team identify the most likely personas and to design messages, campaigns and products that will appeal to them.

Our relationship with CACI supports Hotter Shoes’ focus on driving marketing agility and delivering customer-centric, hyper-relevant shopping experiences,” says Stephen. “Consumers’ expectations are ever-increasing, and we are striving to provide our customers with communications that serve not just brand messages but also talk to them as individuals.

You can download a PDF copy of this case study here.

If you’d like to discuss your consumer data or data science needs with our team of experts, please get in touch.

Data science drives EDF Energy’s ‘Generation Electric’ campaign

Posted on: 14 June 2021

As the UK’s largest producer of low-carbon electricity, EDF Energy is committed to supporting electric car adoption as part of their vision of a low-carbon future. Using their expertise in energy to benefit EV drivers, EDF Energy created an Electric Vehicle (EV) proposition (vehicle leasing, an EV tariff and home chargers) to be targeted appropriately to existing customers who own an EV, and those who may buy one in future through a nurture campaign.

The Challenge

To target customers suitable for home charge point installation and home energy plans designed for EV users, identifying customers who own an EV was required. With their move into EV car leasing, EDF Energy needed to be able to identify consumers who had a propensity to want to purchase an EV in the future.

The Solution

The Segmentation

Data analysis gained from smart meters was utilised in identifying EDF Energy customers who were likely to be EV owners. Predictions were made based on consistent, regular peaks and troughs in consumption combined with demographic filters.

CACI’s demographic data was used to gain an insight into consumer characteristics and behaviours and identify EDF Energy customers who are inclined to purchase an EV.

The Customer Journeys

Data analysis informed a customer journey that was designed by CACI in accordance with customer profiles that had been created, as well as an understanding of the EV buying process. The life stages of the journey reflected a customer-centred approach, recognising the needs of the customer when making a considered purchase:

Awareness: of EDF Energy in the EV space
Consideration: EDF Energy in the EV market and EV in general
Education: on the EDF Energy EV proposition
Review: against the customer’s specific needs

The journey of the EV proposition was customised throughout, recognising the different needs and requirements of the customer. A customer’s behaviour was a key driver in ensuring the right message was delivered at the right time. The individualised journey optimised behaviours to indicate when the customer was ready to progress, entering a Nurture programme to keep the proposition front of mind when it was suggested they were still transitioning through the average two year-long sales cycle. Interactive content was designed to complement the customers quadrant and enhance the journey and life stage, creating innovate user experiences and providing a personalised journey of follow up communications tailored to the customers interaction.

The Results

The campaign is still in its early stages, having recently launched and is already experiencing impressive results. The first email in the campaign’s series resulted in an open rate of 45%. This is 28% above the automotive industry standard!

Transforming Bupa’s customer journeys

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Bupa was created in 1947 in the UK with the founding purpose to prevent, relieve and cure sickness and ill-health of every kind. The company is driven by a passion to provide high quality, affordable healthcare. Today, Bupa is an international healthcare company, providing health insurance, treatment in clinics, dental centres, hospitals and care homes.

The Challenge

Richard Glassborow is the Direct Distribution and Marketing Director for Bupa UK Insurance. He explains:

“Our challenge was no less than a marketing transformation. When I met with CACI a few months after taking up this role, I was looking for ways to transform our people, technology and data capabilities.

“Transforming our customer journeys was my top priority. We have a big customer base with many different journeys, from finding customers, bringing them into the funnel for conversion, on-boarding, renewing, retention and off-boarding, as well as managing claims. Customer expectations for personalised engagement are very high: they’re set by technology-led organisations like Amazon. In healthcare, we needed to raise our game.

The Solution

The end goal was to give Richard and his team a roadmap to transform customer journeys, alongside an assessment of current data and technology gaps.

Bupa had some challenges with lead conversion and retention, partly due to a lack of personalisation in their communications. For the transformation roadmap, CACI built a suite of private medical insurance (PMI) customer journeys for different life stages, then converted those into contact strategies which could be developed and activated through Bupa’s Adobe technology platform. They were designed to be engaging, timely and relevant.

CACI looked at the technology and data dependencies in context of Bupa’s existing and future resources, identifying the changes needed to give Bupa the customer experience capability it wanted. CACI’s consultants produced a recommended strategic solution to transform data and technology by upgrading Bupa’s IT architecture.

The Benefits

Richard Glassborow is very pleased with the report and recommendations made by CACI. “This work has created clarity instead of ambiguity. It has given us momentum and given our senior team the assurance to take the next step. The tactical steps we’ve identified are key to breaking down barriers to change: we now have a credible plan to address them, so everyone is confident that the transformation is feasible.”

CACI is a preferred partner to Bupa for technology and implementation. The teams are working together on several strategic projects, including the single customer view, marketing distribution technology, and this infrastructure solution.

Team CACI understands the tech, the data silos, the infrastructure, our operational ways of working and what’s realistically possible in the timeframes we have. Using their knowledge and intelligence, they have pieced together a strong and coherent roadmap and action plan for improved customer experience that will measurably uplift our KPIs. Because they understand us and the issues we face as an organisation, they are by our side as trusted advisors and partners.

Find out more about how we’re supporting Bupa with their customer marketing strategy in the full case study here.

Acorn enables Affinity Water to understand water demand

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Affinity Water is the largest water-only supplier in the UK, committed to delivering a high-quality water service to all their customers. Their vision is to be the UK’s leading community-focused water company, providing 950 million litres of water each day to over 78,000 non-household connections and 1.4 million homes.

Why Affinity Water Chose Acorn

Acorn was chosen as it provided an easy way to apply insight to our customer base. Being a postcode level product, meant it was easy for us to apply to our customer base ourselves and has been invaluable in providing insight into how and why different groups have different patterns of water usage, enabling us to tailor our communications accordingly.

Using Acorn has allowed us to get a far better understanding of water demand across different Acorn Groups allowing Affinity Water to better serve our customers in a variety of ways; from reducing leakage, helping with water saving programmes and tailoring messaging to different groups.

How Affinity Water Use Acorn

Affinity Water use Acorn to model the demand for water in unmetered households. Acorn is combined into Affinity Water’s models to allow for a more nuanced understanding of different household’s demand for water. This understanding enables Affinity to identify local irregularities to quickly identify and respond to leaks ensuring targets for water use reduction are met.

Using Acorn has enabled Affinity Water to understand how different households’ demand for water changes on an hourly basis. This has helped them design water saving programmes by understanding how different groups would react to water saving programmes as well as being a factor in re-designing their bills.

Additionally, Affinity have also been able to model the increase in demand due to Covid so they can engage with regulators about increased water usage.

The Benefits

Predictive factor in building models to understand water usage
Models help support leakage calculations
Help design water saving programmes with nuanced messaging for different Acorn Groups
Allows the flexibility for scenario planning such as increased household water demand due to Covid

Further Information

You can access a PDF copy of this case study, here. If you’d like to discuss your consumer data or data science needs with our team of experts, please get in touch.

Democratising student access and experiences

Posted on: 29 January 2021

As we have seen with the recent news around exams results, democratising student access to higher education is an important theme in the British educational landscape. With a skewwhiff government algorithm seemingly penalising students from disadvantaged backgrounds, a reworking of A-level results is underway to ensure a fairer grading process is implemented. Granting students fair access to education is one thing, but what happens to those students who are finishing their degrees and looking for work? What can higher education facilities do to democratise the employment prospects of students once they have completed their courses?

A survey by Prospects in May 2020 found that more than half of final year students have lost jobs or internships due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Colleges and universities often work closely alongside prospective employers to deliver internship and employment opportunities, but could this process be opened up further to improve the employment outlook of students going forward?

As we’ve seen during the pandemic, technology is playing an increasingly central role in how we work and communicate. Where work calls are taking place on platforms such as Zoom, so are university lectures and seminars as institutions have scrambled to deliver their core services to their students.

The upshot of this is that the door to innovation within higher and further education facilities has well and truly been opened, with what seemed like an alien concept until very recently now the ‘new normal’. Furthermore, it is showing that the technology and innovation works, with students completing their studies online across the UK.

At the heart of this is the crucial focus on improving student outcomes. This is an emphasis that sits across the educational spectrum, from 0-25 years, to deliver the best possible education to everyone. Technology is playing a central role in this, helping schools, colleges and universities to link external factors and circumstances to each student’s journey in order to make the best possible provisions for them.

The SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) experience is a good example of this, with records being established early and shared across the student’s educational facilities. This information can be shared with further and higher education institutions as well, to assist them in appropriately catering for and focussing on that student’s outcomes.

The increasingly widespread use of technology is also making education more accessible for all. With courses, lectures and seminars available online, it removes some of the financial burden of having to live in a different city or even of having to pay for transport to and from college or university. This delivers a transparent and comparable student experience to all.

Crucial to the success of remote learning is communication. Students need to be able to access their tutors and course information easily and flexibly. With the student experience moving online, such access also needs to be available virtually, too, in order to establish regular contact and touchpoints to deliver an individual service to each student.

Having access to a student app is an increasingly popular way of opening up two-way communication between education facilities and their students. Creating a central hub for the student enables them to view things such as timetables and course registrations, as well as get in contact with their tutors.

By extending this functionality to prospective employers, further and higher education facilities can help generate awareness of employment opportunities for their students, too. This further helps colleges and universities to communicate with and provide an enhanced service to their students.

There is an opportunity to encourage collaboration and engagement between students, education facilities and employers that focusses on improving student outcomes. We’re seeing the potential that technology is unlocking in democratising the student experience, so it makes sense to extend this to employment opportunities, too.

For more information on how implementing a student app across your educational facility can help empower your students and their outcomes, please click here.

How is COVID impacting student finances?

Posted on: 27 January 2021

Student finances have been something of a hot topic in the higher education industry ever since student tuition fees were raised in 2010. The cost of going to university has really been placed under the microscope, with universities themselves under added pressure to provide value for money to an increasingly expectant population of students. A paradigm shift in attitudes has occurred where there is more focus now than ever before on what students are getting for their money, not least from the students themselves.

The COVID pandemic has ratcheted up the pressure on universities still further. There have been no material reductions in fees as the cost of providing the courses hasn’t drastically altered, with many lectures and seminars having moved to an online environment to mitigate the risks of the virus spreading whilst also providing students with a learning outlet. This has posed challenges to students and their tutors.

Do students feel they are getting value for money?

We recently conducted a survey of 300 UK-based students to assess how they are feeling about returning to university in these COVID times. Among the questions we sought to gain an understanding as to how students felt their finances and overall value for money from their courses were being affected.

View the Survey

60% said that they are concerned about their budget. In isolation, that might not sound like anything new, with the stereotype of students scraping together enough pennies towards the end of term for another night out. Attitudes in that regard, however, have shifted, with average student debt from a three-year course now standing at around £50,000. That’s a significant debt burden to be saddled with, so getting the most from their education is paramount and appropriate budgeting is central to that in order to cover course necessities.

Paying off that debt is also brought into view for students, with 55% of respondents stating that they are concerned about finding work upon completion of their studies. With the labour market being hit by COVID this is a very real concern for students. The ultimate aim of obtaining a degree is to improve employment prospects, but with that becoming an area of concern, there is likely to be a knock-on effect for some as regards attending university in the first place. At this moment, however, only 12% of students feel that COVID makes it less likely that they will complete their course.

Overall, 47% of students feel that they are not getting value for money from their education. 29% of respondents feel that they are getting value for money, with 24% not having an opinion either way.

Changing Perceptions

What can universities do address this perception amongst students? Value for money is something of an intangible and can only really be quantified by the individual, but by improving the student experience, universities can begin to address this issue.

65% of students are concerned about their lectures and seminars being affected, but universities have been very quick in embracing online solutions to deliver their learning programmes. This is something that is actively being used to combat such fears amongst universities, yet the fears remain.

The most effective way for universities to combat such negative perceptions is via clearer communication. COVID has heralded a period of great change across society, with universities no exception. Office workers are working from home now and students are studying from home. Joining the dots between fears over the impact of COVID to their studying, and the reality of the options available, is crucial for universities in managing student expectations and offering value for money to them.

Deploying an all-encompassing student information management system enables universities to keep a track of their students, the disruptions that they are facing at an individual level and to be able to more effectively communicate with them around any short, medium- and long-term changes that are occurring. This connects universities, students and their courses more closely, providing greater clarity and a greater sense of value for money.

For more information on how OSIRIS can help your university, please click here.

COVID, campus and communication – student survey reveals concerns over universities’ handling of pandemic

Posted on: 26 January 2021

Managing the Covid pandemic and its potential spread through university freshers’ week was a difficult challenge for universities. Perhaps most prominently, Glasgow University was forced into an early lockdown in its halls of residence as positive tests for Covid spiked shortly after the new intake of students arrived in the city. This presented a significant challenge to the university in communicating with its students and managing the situation.

CACI recently conducted a survey of 300 students around returning to university, their studying and their overall student lifestyle in the face of Covid. Unsurprisingly, 95% of students expressed concern about the impact of Covid upon their lifestyle. This isn’t a concern restricted to students, either, with lockdown rules and government guidance being enforced to try and restrict the spread of the virus across the whole of society.

When it comes to the student experience, 59% of students are concerned about socialising and 55% are concerned about returning to a physical location in order to continue their studies.

View the Survey Here

The challenge for universities is in providing a seamless student experience that can incorporate the learning and socialising outcomes that most expect from attending university. There is, after all, a reason why these students have chosen to attend university rather than complete an online course.

71% of students view the university campus as integral to their student experience, yet 45% believe that it is unlikely that they will return to study on campus again. There is an element of managing a transition into the unknown for universities here.

Universities have been carefully implementing Covid secure environments to smooth the passage of safe return for students. One-way systems, mandatory face coverings in buildings and socially distanced lecture halls and libraries are all designed to protect students, staff and the wider society in which the university is situated.

Whilst such measures undoubtedly impact on the anticipated student experience, they do help universities to manage student concerns. But what of those students forced into self-isolation by an escalating situation around them?

Whilst 59% of students are concerned about socialising, 41% are not. This inherent contradiction is impossible for universities to manage. What universities can – and have – managed is the fear of the 55% who are concerned about returning to a physical location.

Communication plays a vital role in this. Clear guidance has been given by universities to their students about acceptable behaviour during Covid, with household bubbles and a restriction on mass gatherings put in place. Beyond that, universities are reliant upon the social conscience of their student population to abide by the measures put in place.

The measures put in place by universities show that they can manage the contradiction between their students viewing campus as integral, yet also a cause for concern. Effectively demonstrating this to their students, and communicating clear policy and guidelines, can help to assuage anxieties in the student population about returning to campus.

Technology can play a fundamental role in the new student experience, too. Lectures and seminars are increasingly, although not exclusively, moving to online platforms. With Covid guidelines an evolving and ongoing concern, universities need to be able to respond to the challenges and communicate their policies to their students quickly.

Student information management systems can help universities to meet these changing demands. Via a system such as OSIRIS, for example, students can download a white labelled university app, through which the university can send instant communications, present timetables and course options, as well as putting students in touch with their tutors.

Centrally managing the ongoing response to Covid will help universities to stay on top of the problem, implement effective responses and keep their students informed, safe and up to date.

For more information on OSIRIS, please click here.

Can real-time detection and site inspections help to reduce railway trespass?

Posted on: 14 December 2020

Trespassing on railway tracks has always been, and to some extent always will be, an issue for train operating companies, British Transport Police and Network Rail. Recent data from British Transport Police and Network Rail shows a five-year high in trespassing incidents in 2020, with September seeing 1,239 incidents reported – the worst month over that period. Furthermore, trespass costs the railway network £50m every year, with the overall cost to the UK economy standing at £800m per year. What can TOCs and Network Rail do to address the situation?

Network Rail and British Transport Police have really ramped up awareness of the dangers of trespassing over the past couple of years, with social media campaigns targeted at a younger audience which have included aspects such as football club Twitter accounts promoting awareness of the issue in order to help reach a younger audience. Increases in trespassing incidents usually coincide with school holidays, so reaching school children with the messaging has been the main priority.

It’s not just children, however, who are trespassing on the lines. Trespassing on the tracks became a national story in October when a couple in Whitby were caught having their wedding photos taken on railway tracks.

The cost of trespassing to the rail industry is vast, running into the hundreds of millions of pounds every year. Where trespassers are spotted, trains must stop or run at reduced speeds, causing knock-on effects to the smooth running of the network. Then there’s the cost to the public of any police enforcement that requires conducting to end incidents. This can then result in the added cost of administering fines and court appearances and, in some severe cases, jail terms.

A Data Driven Approach

There’s only so much TOCs, Network Rail and British Transport Police can do to stop trespassing. Data suggests that their social media campaigns have had a largely positive impact, with incidents involving children decreasing. British Transport Police report that taking a short cut is the primary motivation for trespass, followed by thrill seeking. Such temptations will always remain.

CACI can help. Utilising Internet of Things (IoT), sensors and smart video cameras mounted inside the train’s driving cabs, CACI‘s real-time trespass solution is capable of capturing foreign objects on the rail network and enabling real-time video playback of an incident to Operational Control Centres. This enables TOC staff to quickly assess the problem and alert Network Rail and British Transport Police to rapidly deploy staff to site.

Not only does this help to pinpoint the location of a live incident, and help to reduce the impact and the delays each incident causes, but it also provides intelligence on trespass locations to help determine trespass hotspots across the network.

Regular inspections of these hotspots can make a difference, but it’s impossible to police every inch of the railway network. This is where data gathering enables efficient targeting of hot spots in the battle to reduce incidents.

With key areas identified, it then makes the task of trying to decrease trespassing incidents a bit easier. Using a robust data framework, sites can be inspected regularly to ensure that everything is in place to deter trespassers, from ensuring that trackside fencing is repaired to putting up clear signage that highlights the dangers of trespassing.

Inspectors can be scheduled to ensure that sites are visited on a regular basis, with the inspectors using real-time reporting mechanisms to report back with any defects they spot onsite immediately. This can then automatically trigger a workflow to ensure that appropriate remedial work is scheduled and conducted in a timely fashion.

By automating sections of the administrative process involved in scheduling, recording and actioning work, it saves rail companies time in carrying out inspections and ensures that they are conducted with appropriate regularity. This gives you peace of mind that hotspots are being regularly checked, in real time, and that appropriate signage is in place to help prevent and deter trespassing at identified hot spots.

A Safer Rail Network

Such technology can be used beyond trespassing, too, to ensure that appropriate safety precautions, such as up to date signage, are in place across the rail network, both onboard and outside train carriages, to help reduce the number of incidents. With real-time information being recorded by inspectors out in the field, follow-up work can also be auto scheduled to ensure that the right steps have been taken and that no jobs get missed.

This frees up the time of administrators to work on identifying areas for improvement across the network, helping to run a safer rail network.

Find out how Cygnum can support your scheduling, inspections, data recording and workforce management.

Find out how Radar can help you gather real-time information on the status of your network.

Disaster recovery, downtime and high availability – how is your organisation effected?

Posted on: 2 October 2020

System downtimes and outages are very costly for businesses of all sizes. Of course, the bigger companies suffer eyewatering costs when they experience system outages: in 2019 a 14-hour system outage cost Facebook $90m and in 2016 a five-hour system outage cost Delta Airlines $150m with 2,000 flights cancelled. With the business costs of system outages potentially being so high, it is worth carefully considering the impact that any system outage may cause you.

How does your organisation organise its IT infrastructure? Some outages are seen as inevitable, for example where your system and software need upgrading, but with careful planning the impact of such downtime can be minimised. Planned downtime will be made clear in your service level agreement with your hardware or software provider. Non-planned outages are mitigated via the disaster recovery plans for the respective system.

Minimise Disruption

Business continuity (BC) ensures that aspects such as backups are in place, that data is backed up at regular, logical points and even that backup, physical locations are designed in such a way to mirror the current working environment. Disaster recovery (DR) is scoped to cover unforeseen scenarios ranging from loss of power (at the level of a single server to a complete datacentre), hardware damage or loss through fire or theft, to prolonged system failure. Every organisation has such disaster recovery scenarios covered via its business continuity planning.

Aligning your software solution(s) to your BCDR (business continuity and disaster recovery) plan minimises disruption by ensuring minimal changes to your existing tried and tested disaster recovery processes.

This is where recovery point objectives (RPOs) and recovery time objectives (RTOs) are factored into the BCDR and high availability equations.

RTO is the acceptable time limit after an incident in which your system can be recovered and restored. This interlinks with the RPO, which defines the maximum time period it is tolerable for data to be lost. For example, if your system, with an RTO of three hours goes down, this means that the maximum period of time your organisation should expect to be down is three hours. If the RPO is also three hours, then when the system is back up the maximum amount of data that could be unavailable is three hours prior to the incident occurring.

Keeping Your Business Running

The shorter the time frames for RTOs and RPOs, the higher the associated costs. Having an RTO and RPO close to zero (i.e. no down time and zero data loss) would require, effectively, ‘real-time backup’ with transactions replicated to an offsite system.

The same is true of high availability. Organisations require high availability in order that system outages are kept to an absolute minimum. For certain public bodies, organisations and institutions, such as those in the public sector including transport operators, healthcare, care service providers and hospitals, as well as private enterprise companies specialising in data, high availability is imperative. The higher the availability, however, the higher the cost, so it is important to consider all factors when implementing such measures.

Availability is measured in nines, from one nine, or 90%, to nine nines, or 99.9999999%. One nine equates to 35.53 days of downtime per year; nine nines equates to 31.56 milliseconds. What sort of availability your organisation requires is based upon what is tolerable to your organisation in terms of downtime, and the impact of this down time to your operations. With the possibility of conducting planned and scheduled upgrade works over weekends, many firms can accept a lower level of availability in return for reduced costs, keeping any disruption away from most of the workforce.

Therefore, it is important for software and service providers to engage with your overall BCDR strategy. For example, for companies that we supply our Cygnum software to, we understand that we’re only one component of their overall BCDR equation. It is, therefore, vital that we engage with the customer to understand their BCDR processes so that we can dovetail our solution and service level agreements to align with this. If their BCDR processes are not aligned across their technology solutions, then in the event where disaster recovery is required, inconsistent RPOs and RTOs will result in an inconsistent resumption of business as usual.

What’s Right for your Business?

We have seen an increase in demand across our customer base for highly available solutions recently. Those operating in care and transport, for example, require higher availability than those operating in less sensitive areas. Cygnum 2020 can now be installed with real-time site-to-site transaction processing implemented to give a true highly available solution.

It’s all about striking a balance and finding what is required in your business. Would losing an hour’s worth of data be acceptable? Would losing three? Or five? Similarly, does your system need to be fully functional all the time, or can you work around planned and scheduled downtime?

Working with you we can propose the best solution as regards implementing, maintaining and upgrading Cygnum in line with your technology stack, your BCDR processes and how you run your business. As our high availability and hosting solutions have evolved in line with client demand, our solutions have become more adaptable and scalable, meaning that higher availability solutions are more readily and affordably available than they have been in the past.

Depending on your needs, we can work with you to ensure that our service level agreement fits your requirements and budget.

For more information on Cygnum, please click here.