Before IT implemented Entire we would go through "fire drills" when system problems arose. There was a lot of complaining, angry recriminations and, at certain times of the year, barely veiled threats on the lives of IT staff members. It seemed that no one in IT knew how to respond, or ever had the information they needed.

This morning IT lost a disk controller on our main server. Although I'm not sure exactly what that does, I could immediately gauge the impact as I heard the cries of, "Are you having a problem with the system?" wafting over the tops of the cubicles. Before the invectives could begin to be hurled, I was alerted through both my Entire dashboard and a PDA alert as to what had happened and what IT was doing in response. I in turn alerted my staff to the problem.

Within what seemed like only a few moments I received an update with an estimated time for the resolution to be implemented. Since it would be a couple of hours, I instructed my staff to shift their focus to another area for the rest of the morning. I still don't like surprises, but with Entire around I can minimize their disruption.