IT Crisis Compass

I have worked with companies that had thoroughly documented their processes. Hundreds of documents, neatly stored as Word files on the server, ISO-certified, maintained as part of Lean Management. That is good for normal operations and onboarding new employees.

If the technology fails completely, production comes to a standstill. Orders go unfulfilled, delivery deadlines are at risk, and sometimes a customer is waiting for parts without which its own production also comes to a halt. Salaries, rent, and lease payments continue. On top of that come lost contribution margins, expedited shipments, and contractual consequences.

The IT service provider is called, and often a technician arrives who has never set foot in the company. They must find out which systems exist, how they are connected, where the backups are stored, who has decision-making authority, and what needs to be running again first.

The documentation is on the server that is currently not working. And even if it were accessible, no one can spend a week working through hundreds of documents during an emergency.

The IT Crisis Compass does not shorten a repair. It shortens the time it takes to determine where the repair should begin. You are best placed to estimate how long that would take in your own company today.

It may be ten pages, or it may be twenty. What matters is that an outside specialist can quickly understand what they are dealing with:

• Who are the contacts, who is responsible, and who is authorised to make decisions?
• Which systems are essential to operations, and how are they interconnected?
• Where are the backups stored, what snapshots are available, and who can access them?
• What replacement equipment is available, either at the company or from the service provider?
• What response times have been agreed upon, and when will technicians and equipment actually be on site?
• What needs to be running again first: production, order processing, shipping, or accounting?
• Which downstream processes and delivery obligations depend on them?
• What minimum equipment would allow operations to continue at least partially?

The result is a finished, usable document, not just an assessment with recommendations. It also identifies outstanding issues that should be resolved before an emergency. The document is stored outside the company’s own IT systems, with access credentials kept in a secure repository.

The basis is a structured questionnaire, existing records, and discussions with the people who actually know the operation: management, IT, production, administration, and external service providers.

A system that must be started before another. An interface that only one particular employee knows about. A process that, at first glance, has nothing to do with IT.

The IT Crisis Compass is not a complete crisis management plan. It replaces neither complete technical documentation nor a recovery test.

An assessment cannot establish whether a backup can actually be restored or whether a service provider will deliver in an emergency. That requires separate investigations and, where appropriate, controlled crisis tests.

As Head of IT and Digitalisation at a mechanical engineering company, I was responsible for an environment comprising production IT, ERP, two data centres, and ten service providers working in parallel. At Siemens Nixdorf, I independently consolidated two service systems following the merger. I also migrated a production platform from Prague to Amsterdam, with approximately two seconds of interruption.

For a mid-sized company, the work typically takes three to eight business days, depending on the number of locations, documentation, and systems landscape. Most of the work takes place on site because management rarely knows every process, especially the hidden ones.

Scope and compensation are agreed upon before the engagement; travel and incidental expenses from the starting point in Freiburg are billed separately based on actual costs. Upon request, the IT Crisis Compass is reviewed regularly, for example every six months.

For the first three clients, I offer the IT Crisis Compass at a fixed price of €3,500 excluding VAT (normally billed by effort at approx. 3–8 days at €1,500 excluding VAT per day).

• one location with manageable infrastructure
• a predetermined number of interviews
• the completed IT Crisis Compass for this company as the deliverable

Within this scope, the fixed price applies regardless of the actual number of days. Additional locations or a more complex systems landscape are agreed separately at the regular day rate. Payment is made in two installments: 50% upon commissioning, payable before work begins, and 50% upon delivery of the completed IT Crisis Compass. Travel expenses are additional; details are governed by the service terms. A reference is welcome but not required: what I learn about a company’s crisis readiness remains confidential.

Inquire About the Pilot Offer · by Email

If all IT systems fail tomorrow and an unfamiliar technician arrives at the door, how many hours will pass before they know what needs to be done first?

A brief description of the company, its locations, and its IT environment is enough for an initial assessment.

Inquire About the IT Crisis Compass · by Email