We want to underscore a vital truth: Even with significant investments in continuity planning and infrastructure, no communication solution is immune to unexpected failures.

Whether it’s an internet outage, a severed cable, or a data center affected by severe weather, these disruptions can occur despite our best efforts.

Fortunately, we can report that no TCI customers faced outages during the CrowdStrike incident in late July. This is a testament to the unwavering commitment to communication resilience we share with Mitel, our strategic technology partner.

Communication resilience is especially vital in mission-critical sectors where failures can have devastating consequences:

• Hospitality and Entertainment – Consider airports that experience service disruptions and challenges communicating with customers during downtime. Handling communication surge events in the aftermath adds to their burden.
• Healthcare and Emergency Services – Some providers will revert to pen and paper when access to electronic health records and other critical systems is lost. This shift highlights the vital need for uninterrupted communication channels in high-stakes environments.
• Public Sector Operations – During the CrowdStrike outage, states like Alaska and New Hampshire experienced significant disruptions in emergency services. 911 systems went offline, affecting the public’s ability to get timely help.

The economic impact of outages can be staggering. Insurer Parametrix predicts that the CrowdStrike event alone could cost Fortune 500 companies over $5 billion in direct losses.

The TCI and Mitel Approach to Communication Resilience

These are known challenges for any digitally driven organization. Our shared approach prevents or mitigates failures, outages, and breaches through a comprehensive and multi-faceted strategy:

1. Embracing Hybrid Infrastructure – We believe hybrid infrastructure is essential for ensuring resilience:

• Cost-Effective Support: Hybrid models accommodate diverse work styles and offer hands-on control over the environment.
• Built-in Redundancies: Our solutions, with failover capabilities and geo-separated deployments, are designed to minimize the risk of communication downtime.

2. Security as a Core Principle – Security is not an afterthought in our solutions; it’s integrated from the ground up:

• Vulnerability Intelligence and Secure Application Development: We embed best practices into our processes to ensure robust security.
• Advanced Encryption: Our products adhere to the latest signaling and media encryption security standards, providing end-to-end protection.
• Proven Expertise: With years of experience securing communications in multi-vendor environments, our solutions are well-tested and reliable.
• Software Assurance (SWA): This feature ensures your Mitel solutions remain up-to-date and protected.

3. Compliance and Partnerships – We take pride in our compliance with a wide range of standards:

• Certifications: Our services and solutions support rigorous standards, including DoD JITC, HIPAA, Dodd-Frank Act, MiFID II, DORA, MaRisk, FedRAMP, and ISO27001.
• Security Partnerships: We collaborate with leading security firms, such as McAfee, Trend Micro, Check Point, Fortinet, Imprivata, TippingPoint, and IronPort, to provide comprehensive coverage.
• Multi-Vendor Expertise: Our experience with multi-vendor environments helps map end-to-end security for your communication infrastructure.

Looking Ahead

TCI and Mitel’s engagement with security standards organizations like the Cloud Security Alliance and CIS Benchmark and adherence to IETF RFC recommendations (including TLS 1.3) underscores our commitment to continuous improvement in security and resilience.

While no system can be entirely impervious to failure, our proactive measures in hybrid infrastructure, embedded security, and rigorous compliance frameworks ensure that we are prepared to meet and overcome the challenges of modern communication disruptions.

For those navigating the complex landscape of communication resilience, rest assured that TCI stands ready to support you with solutions designed to keep your operations secure and your communications uninterrupted.

Learn more about how to mitigate digital threats and keep your organization communicating. Contact the TCI experts at (703) 321-3030 or info@tcicomm.com.