What does it mean for a system to be mission-critical and how should such a system be managed?

What is Mission Critical Software?

Whether it’s the flashy app everyone’s downloading that bears the company name or the silent workhorse ensuring your business operations run like a well-oiled machine, one thing’s for sure – you don’t want to spend a day without it.

When the system is the flagship product (like Facebook, Spotify, or Netflix), it’s easy to see that it is mission-critical. When the app/system is down we all know it and it’s a crisis moment for the company. But we’ve worked on several systems whose critical nature was a little more subtle, like:

  • Invoice Scanning and Categorization
  • Verification Process Management
  • Support Request Routing
  • Print Asset Generation
  • Appointment Management and Efficiency Reporting

How to Manage a Mission Critical System

So, how do you ensure your mission-critical software keeps running day in, day out? It’s all about giving it the care and attention it deserves before there is a problem. Here are a few key areas to focus on:



Monitor

Keep a close eye on how your software is performing. The idea is to know there is a problem before your users do.

Top Monitoring Needs:

  • Health Check Endpoint

    • A simple way to get notified if there’s an unexpected system failure

  • Storage Usage

    • One of the most common and preventable ways for systems to stop working is to simply run out of storage

  • SSL status

    • Renew SSL certificates automatically and a good precaution is to be notified when a certificate is about to expire

  • Crash/Error Logs with automatic notifications to key people

    • There are many automated ways to be notified of errors and crashes


Security

Stay vigilant against potential threats and keep your defenses up to date. It isn’t as complicated as Hollywood movies might lead you to believe. You don’t need a skateboarding guy named The Plague or a mobile command center with a team of hacking specialists. Basic best practices and prevention are all that is needed in most cases.

Top Security Actions:

  • Run automated vulnerability scans to identify operating systems and software libraries that might include vulnerabilities
  • Perform Penetration Scans at regular intervals to verify security practices are successful

There are many other more advanced practices that you can employ, but starting with the basics makes sense in most cases.



Performance

Is your software running as smoothly as it should? Regular performance checks can help identify areas for improvement and keep things running like a well-oiled machine.

Top Performance Metrics:

  • Memory Usage

    • Increased memory usage is a key indicator of worsening code performance

  • CPU Usage

    • Increased CPU usage is a key indicator of increased demand

  • Benchmarks, such as page load times, query response times, etc

    • Measuring and tracking changes in these metrics can make identifying detrimental changes significantly easier


Regular Maintenance

Don’t wait until something breaks to give it the attention it needs. The longer you put off updating to a newer version of language, frameworks, and libraries, the higher the effort will be, a term commonly referred to as Technical Debt. Pay it down regularly to avoid major problems.

  • Update Libraries and Frameworks regularly
  • Refactor and reorganize code to maximize maintainability

This is also a good time to fix minor, lower-priority bugs



Continued Growth and Evolution

The world of technology moves fast, and your software should keep pace. Invest in its continued growth and evolution to ensure it stays relevant and effective. Consider the following at regular intervals, be it monthly, quarterly or at the very least annually:

  • Conduct an audit to find out what is or isn’t working as well as it could
  • Go through a backlog of features and determine if any of them should be implemented
  • Review existing features that are not being used and find ways to make them work better or remove them
  • Evaluate existing and possible integrations


Final Thoughts

At the end of the day, your mission-critical software may or may not be the flashiest part of your business, but it’s certainly important enough to invest in it. By giving it the care and attention it requires, you are ensuring smooth sailing for today and laying the groundwork for future success. It is always better to confront problems and risks earlier than later. Transforming the knot of worry into a radiance of confidence doesn’t have to require a massive effort or investment. It is always better to do the best you can rather than nothing at all.

Get in touch.