Servers are down.   Employees are scrambling.   Customers are upset.   The pressure is on.

When internal operations are in disarray, and your business is experiencing a service outage, the last thing you need to worry about is the reliability of your incident communication solution. Keeping users informed when services are down is mission-critical, in order to prevent a flood of support requests, which compound the effects of the incident, straining employee productivity and bandwidth.

A public or private status page is often the only way to communicate with the outside world during an outage, providing the last line of defense between you and complete chaos. Choosing a small SaaS provider of public-only status pages may seem like a cost-effective option, but in reality it should be the last place you should look to cut costs, as this opens your business up to various failure points. Here are the top five reasons why you should avoid small providers and opt for an established vendor with a proven track record.

Reliability

Small providers may not have the resources or infrastructure to ensure that their service is always up and running. Established vendors, on the other hand, have invested in the necessary hardware and software to provide a reliable service. They also offer reliable SLA’s that protect your investment.

Security

Small providers may not have the expertise or resources to ensure that their service is secure. Established vendors have teams of security experts who work to ensure that customer data is safe and secure.  Make sure your status page vendor has an independent security audit such as SOC-II Type 2

Scalability

Small providers may not have the resources or technology to handle a large number of customers. Established vendors have the infrastructure and expertise to scale their service to meet the needs of large enterprise customers.

Support

Small providers may not have a dedicated support team to help customers with any issues or questions they may have. Established vendors have teams of support experts who are available 24/7 to assist customers.  When your servers go down at 2:30am Saturday night, make sure your status page provider will be there … just in case.

Reputation

Small providers may not have a strong reputation in the industry. Established vendors have a proven track record of providing a high-quality service to many large enterprise and public customers.  Go to the vendor's customer page.  Do you recognize any of those brands?  Consider finding a vendor who has successfully served big recognizable names.

When your business is experiencing an outage, the last thing you need to worry about is the reliability of your status page, the centerpiece of a strong incident response strategy. Choosing a small SaaS provider of public status pages may seem like a cost-effective option, but it comes with several risks that can negatively impact your business. To ensure that your status page is robust and resilient to the uncertainty and chaos of service outages, you should prioritize established vendors who have been tried and trusted by large enterprises in your search for an effective incident communication solution.