Cost Avoidance From Reduced Business Interruptions

Evidence and data. Interviewees shared that critical events that arise from operational disruptions, workplace safety incidents, and natural hazards resulted in unplanned business interruptions to their organization’s operations. They noted that before leveraging Noggin, their organizations lacked the capabilities to anticipate, prepare for, and efficiently respond to incidents. During the course of an incident, interviewees also struggled to identify the full extent of the business impact and to accurately pinpoint and alert necessary teams to raise a response. Interviewees noted that implementing Noggin enabled them to integrate data across systems for a unified view of incidents and their impact, as well as generate automated alerts to relevant teams based on pre-configured priority levels. This helped the interviewees’ organizations to react faster to resolve incidents, which enabled business operations to resume as promptly as possible and preserve their positive brand reputation.

• The national director of business continuity at a beverage sales and distribution firm stated: “Noggin is now the centerpiece of our command center from an incident manager perspective for the entire organization. It combines dashboards associated with the current status with our alerts, incidents, and security.”

• The digital systems analyst at an airline and aviation company shared: “We would see hundreds of operational, safety, security and operation events per month. Operational and safety events are the most complex to resolve. Investigation for such events usually took hours, with 90% of them getting resolved within two to three hours. Without Noggin, this would have taken more than a day due to the manual coordination that was required.”

Modeling and assumptions. Based on the interviews, Forrester assumes the following about the composite organization:

• A conservative estimate of 13.5 hours of unplanned business interruptions annually, with an average cost of $750,000 per hour.

• A 5% reduction in time lost on unplanned business interruptions annually, that is attributable to Noggin.

Risks. Risks that could impact the realization of this benefit include the following:

• The frequency and severity of unplanned business interruptions may vary across organizations.

• The hourly cost of unplanned business interruptions may differ based on factors like industries or lines of businesses affected.

• The potential variance in the reduction in annual hours of unplanned business interruption attributable to Noggin.

Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this benefit downward by 20%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of $1 million.

Avoided Revenue Loss As A Result Of Reduced IT Downtime

Evidence and data. The interviewees’ organizations operated in highly regulated and mission-critical environments, which depended heavily on robust, cloud-based IT infrastructure. These systems often included hybrid cloud environments, virtualized data centers, real-time transaction processing platforms, and integrated cybersecurity frameworks. Given this reliance, any disruption or downtime in IT services can have significant operational and reputational consequences. Leveraging Noggin enables the composite organization to proactively manage such incidents. The platform activates pre-configured incident response workflows that ensure that IT and operations teams can collaborate seamlessly, respond swiftly, and restore services efficiently — minimizing impact and maintaining business continuity.

• The digital systems analyst at an airline and aviation company said: “Large scale incidents happen three to four times a year, with an average IT downtime of half an hour to an hour, though there are exceptions where it can last longer — especially when the situation is out of our control. Without the Noggin platform, I believe the downtime would have taken two to three hours to resolve.”

• The interim head of operational resilience and business continuity of an insurance firm highlighted: “We had an incident where there was quite a big cyber breach with approximately 9 gigabytes worth of data that was breached [and released] onto the dark web. But the process with Noggin went really well in helping us to resolve and mitigate the impact. In particular, the actual incident response side of it was completely different to what it had been pre-Noggin.”

Modeling and assumptions. For the composite organization, Forrester assumes:

• A conservative estimate of 45 hours of unplanned IT downtime annually with an average of $540,000 of revenue impacted hourly.

• A 20% reduction in unplanned IT downtime annually that is attributable to Noggin.

• An estimate of 12% operating margin.

Risks. Risks that could impact the realization of this benefit include the following:

• Potential variance in the frequency and severity of unplanned IT downtime.

• The hourly cost of unplanned IT downtime may differ based on industries.

• The variance in reduction in unplanned IT downtime that is attributable to Noggin.

Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this benefit downward by 20%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of $1.2 million.

Improved Employee Productivity Via Automation

Evidence and data. Interviewees noted that prior to adopting Noggin, their organizations were reliant on manual processes to manage critical resilience functions. This included developing and maintaining BCPs and BIAs, issuing incident alerts, notifying stakeholders, and compiling post-incident reports. However, such manual efforts were not only time-consuming but also prone to delays and inconsistencies. This was a key vulnerability in high-stakes sectors such as financial services and aviation, where rapid response and regulatory compliance are paramount.

Implementing Noggin has allowed the interviewees’ organizations to benefit from a centralized, automated platform that streamlines these essential functions. Pre-configured templates enable the rapid creation of BCPs and BIAs, which can be automatically routed for review and approval to ensure alignment with internal policies and external regulatory standards.

Noggin also enhances incident response by accurately identifying and notifying the right stakeholders based on pre-defined roles, escalation paths, and the severity of impact. This capability is especially critical in environments where downtime can disrupt operations, such as financial transactions or airfield operations, that can lead to cascading effects on customers and partners.

Furthermore, Noggin automates the generation of post-incident reports, capturing key metrics and insights that feed into a continuous improvement cycle. These insights refine operational processes, strengthen risk mitigation strategies, and ensure compliance with audit and reporting requirements. Beyond safeguarding the reputation and positive brand image of the interviewees’ organizations, Noggin is also a vital enabler of resilience, which fosters competitive advantage for organizations — especially during periods of uncertainty and volatility.

• The executive manager of programs and systems at an insurance firm noted: “Our BCPs are reviewed and reapproved on an annual cycle. Previously, BCPs would have to be extracted into PowerPoint or PDF, sent via email, receive an approval response via email, and then wait for the system to be updated to say it’s approved. Now, through automated notifications, the approver will get a notification, and they can just hit approve and then [the necessary process will] flow through into the system. Each part of the extraction and review step had to be conducted manually and now, it’s automated and faster. This means that a process that used to take days might be completed within a day or a couple of hours.”

• The national director of business continuity at a beverage sales and distribution firm shared: “I can go in and create an incident now within 10 seconds. With Noggin, all you have to do is to fill out a form which helps to standardize all the information we are looking for in an incident. Whereas before, there was a whole manual process needed to notify employees. We may have to send employees an email, but it was kind of an unstructured email with information that was missing, which causes delays with significant back and forth. Hence, the data quality and incident response time has improved dramatically with Noggin.”

• The digital systems analyst at an airline and aviation company said: “Another feature that we find helpful is that once an incident is closed, the Noggin platform can automatically generate an incident report for us by using a specific template with the click of a button. It extracts and summarizes all the information that was recorded during the incident, which can be shared with the leadership team, for compliance, etc. The automation of the incident report saves us a lot of time.”

Modeling and assumptions. For the composite organization, Forrester assumes:

• An average of 200 BCPs and 500 BIAs must be reviewed and updated as part of an annual cycle.

• Before using Noggin, it previously needed two hours to review and maintain a BCP or BIA.

• Before using Noggin, there were 300 incidents annually with an average of two hours in incident response time.

• It needs a total of 300 post-incident reports annually which correspond to the number of incidents annually.

• Before using Noggin, it needed four hours to create a post-incident report.

• The average hourly salary of a business continuity manager is $67.

Risks. Risks that could impact the realization of this benefit include the following:

• The number of BCPs and BIAs needed to be reviewed and updated may vary based on the industry and organization size.

• The number of incidents, and hence, post-incident reports may also differ based on the industry and line of business.

• The level of automation that organizations have in place before using Noggin.

Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this benefit downward by 10%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of $217,000.

Unquantified Benefits

Interviewees mentioned the following additional benefits that their organizations experienced but were not able to quantify:

• Improved overall visibility and future impact prediction. Through its integrated threat intelligence and situational awareness capabilities, Noggin consolidates data from multiple internal and external sources (e.g., operational systems, weather feeds, cybersecurity alerts, and regulatory updates) into a unified and visualized dashboard. This real-time visibility allowed the interviewees’ organizations to detect early warning signs of potential disruptions. Additionally, Noggin’s analytics and scenario modeling tools help forecast the potential impact of these threats, enabling teams to simulate outcomes, prioritize response actions, and refine mitigation strategies before incidents escalate.
  The national director of business continuity at a beverage sales and distribution firm noted: “With Noggin, the whole incident reporting process is all standardized with all the rules and the requirements for incident reporting built into the system. This means I can look at my Noggin app and I can tell exactly what incidents are happening in the organization, anywhere in the world. This gives me a level of visibility I never had before.”

• Improved compliance. Noggin plays a critical role in helping the interviewees’ organizations strengthen and streamline their compliance posture across regulatory, operational, and industry-specific standards. Through the centralization of compliance-related data and workflows, Noggin enabled organizations to maintain up-to-date documentation, track regulatory obligations, and automate audit trails. Its configurable templates and checklists ensured that BCPs, BIAs, and incident response protocols aligned with regulatory frameworks. Moreover, built-in review and approval workflows within the platform ensured accountability and traceability, which reduced the risk of noncompliance and enhanced readiness for audits and regulatory reviews. This also goes toward protecting the reputation of the interviewees’ organizations as compliant and reliable.
  The interim head of operational resilience and business continuity of an insurance firm said: “Noggin serves as the single source of truth for critical systems and applications. It has transformed us from being undocumented and noncompliant to becoming fully compliant within a year, meeting all regulatory requirements and positioning us strongly for FCA audits.”

• Enhanced CX. Interviewees shared that Noggin has helped them to elevate their organization’s CX by ensuring operational resilience and seamless communication during disruptions. By automating incident response workflows and enabling real-time stakeholder notifications, Noggin minimized service interruptions and ensured customers were kept informed throughout the incident lifecycle. This transparency builds trust and reduces frustration, especially in high-impact sectors like financial services and aviation where delays or outages can significantly affect customer satisfaction.
  The digital systems analyst at an airline and aviation company said: “When we can perform our duties in time and proactively, it improves passenger experience in the airport as they are able to navigate efficiently. We get a lot of positive feedback on this.”

• Enhanced communications and collaboration. Noggin provided a centralized platform where teams could access real-time information, updates, and action plans during both routine operations and critical incidents, which is key to enhancing internal communications and driving collaboration. It streamlined communication through automated alerts, role-based notifications, and shared dashboards, which ensured that all relevant stakeholders are aligned and informed without delays or miscommunication. The platform’s collaborative workflows allowed cross-functional teams such as IT, operations, compliance, and executive leadership to coordinate seamlessly, assign tasks, and track progress in a transparent environment. This not only accelerated decision-making but also fostered a culture of accountability and teamwork — thereby improving organizational agility and response effectiveness.
  The digital systems analyst at an airline and aviation company said: “The Noggin platform allows for the integration of other applications such as Power BI. We also integrated Microsoft Office 365 so that when critical incidents happen, we are able to chat directly and send a meeting invite within the Noggin platform itself. This helps us to collaborate better and faster to resolve the incident.”

Flexibility

The value of flexibility is unique to each customer. There are multiple scenarios in which a customer might implement Noggin and later realize additional uses and business opportunities, including:

• Allows integration with other systems. The digital systems analyst from an airline and aviation company that we interviewed highlighted Noggin’s flexibility in integrating with a transport monitoring system via API. This system uses bus-mounted sensors to capture real-time data on passenger activity and safety conditions. Once incidents on these transportation linkages were detected, Noggin would automatically create safety events, notify the safety team, and enable prompt response. The integration also supports task management features like due dates and reminders to ensure timely follow-up.

• Customization and scalability based on evolving business needs. The interim head of operational resilience and business continuity of an insurance firm  explained how their initial use of Noggin centered around business continuity and incident management. As their business needs evolved over the years, however, they have scaled the use of Noggin by building and customizing additional functionalities such as mass notification, threat intelligence, and syncing contacts. By leveraging the mass notification capability, the interviewees’ organizations have been able to work around the limitations in their HR system to raise communications lines and integrate threat intelligence feeds more effectively.

Flexibility would also be quantified when evaluated as part of a specific project (described in more detail in Total Economic Impact Approach).