Criticality Definition

Criticality — degree of importance and significance of separate parts, procedures or events of the entire system. As one may regard in a general definition, criticality is conditioned by each possibility of risk evaluation, coupled with failure or improper functioning of the network in the given case.

Some factors that would normally be added in the consideration of criticality include the value of data and services provided by a considered system; frequency of possible failures; severity of failures if they occur; inter-component dependencies, inter-process dependencies, etc. This will ensure functioning conductively, resiliently, reliably, fault-tolerant mechanisms; as such, processing has to mitigate that.

There are some infrastructure components processing sensitive data or transactions conduction of which needs a high volume of processing, security mechanisms for protection from cyber threats, etc., which are at the core of the mission-critical applications that are indispensable to the main primary business of an organization; thus, any integral computer science component will not duly function in compromised conditions.

This would then position one to come up with adequate measures that can be carried out with the view of risk mitigation, and hence provide system availability, which encompasses the provision for fault tolerance and disaster recovery.

Key factors that shape criticality

There are a number of factors that determine the impact or importance of a component or a process:

• Data and service values. These systems with sensitive data, e.g. financial records, personal or live transaction data, have a greater criticality. These may result in costs or sanctions of varying degrees, loss of privacy, or lost income.
• Frequency of failures. Using components that fail deserves special attention, particularly when it is important as well. The common problems pose a threat and require anticipatory measures.
• Severity of impact. Major consequences due to failures need to be implemented immediately, even though they are infrequent. As an example, when a failure causes disruption on the systems in a hospital or important communication channels, it should receive the utmost priority.
• Component dependencies. Networks do not work in isolation. The collapse of one component is a chain reaction which leads to the impact of several other components. Knowledge of these dependencies allows identifying those components that must be stable in general.

How criticality influences system architecture

The infrastructures of high criticality require strong design and engineering principles by focusing on reliability and resilience. Important strategies are:

• Fault tolerance. This is done through the creation of redundancy and backup systems that allow operations to be routinely maintained despite the failure of part of the components. This may involve the installation of several servers, redundant storage of data, or built-in backup.
• High level of security. The practice will mitigate breaches that may occur due to attacks or hacking and share information that might jeopardize the security of the company.
• Disaster planning. The anticipation of the various scenarios with specific plans and tools to recover the operations helps the organizations to recover fast and reduce downtime.

In the case of mission-critical applications like those that support fundamental business processes or fundamental functions of government, such design principles must be fulfilled. The disruption of such mechanisms may cause a high financial loss, reputation, or regulatory cost.

Criticality in the risk and operations management

Learning criticality enables organizations to develop risk management strategies. Resources are used in such a way as to save the most significant elements of the architecture. The two control groups (monitoring systems and incident response teams) are geared toward determining when critical elements are showing early warning signs and acting on them first.

Such an attitude generates a proactive attitude towards risk. Instead of responding after the failures have already happened, the teams strive to detect the weaknesses and mitigate them prior to their development. This limits the possibility of downtime and enhances the reliability of the solution.

The reassessment of criticality should be done based on a regular basis so that the risk management remains appropriate to correspond to the existing environment with the changes that appear and which may alter the technological landscape, the risks, as well as the priorities of any business.